Dragon Hunt
by NewMusic098
Summary: Fairy Tail discovers a woman with the ability to track dragons. Gaining her trust is easier than they thought. Rated M for lemon and gore I guess. XD NatsuxOC a bit of LokexLucy and ooc-ish Edo-NatsuxOC. Links with Catnip Trouble...
1. Tracker of the Ancients

**This is a FanFic with an OC..**

**First time... XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail,just my OC..**

**NatsuxOC**

**A little bit of LokexLucy**

**Dragon Hunt**

**Chapter 1:**

**Trackers of the Ancients**

The guild was at their usual lively,destructive self. Natsu was pummeling Gray and vice versa. Juvia silently cheering for Gray. Erza was eating strawberry cheesecake. Mira was happily serving drinks to the older men. Cana was drinking in her large barrel,mumbling something about the men there can't handle their alchohol. Everyone was so happy,until someone came busting through the door bearing ill news.

"Hey,everyone!" the blonde stellar mage shouted. "Someone needs help,she's badly injured! We gotta help her."

Upon hearing these words,Wendy and Charles went with Lucy. Outside,Loke is already carrying the poor girl. She was badly injured and looked like she went through a fierce battle. Lucy told Loke to put her in the Guild's Infirmary. Wendy checked if there are any broken bones on her body. She was limp,but breathing.

"She's been poisoned," Wendy announced. "She probably got it during her fight with her enemy. I got her some medicine,and I'll try to remove the poison from her body." she placed a wet cloth on her head. "She just needs rest and she should feel alright."

"Oh,thank goodness." Lucy sighed with relief. She went outside to inform her friends.

"How is the girl?" Erza asked,a bit worried.

"She's fine," Lucy answered. "Wendy said she was poisoned. Probably got it from her enemy. But she treated her right away. She should wake up in a few hours."

"That's good,then. We need to ask her who or what attacked her. From the gashes at her clothes,she appeared to be attacked by an animal." Erza deduced. "Still,we can't be sure until she wakes up. Lucy," she looked to Lucy with stern eyes.

Realizing her worry,she silently nodded and pulled out one of her Gold Keys.

"Gate of the Maiden,I open thee! Virgo!" With a flash of light,a petite,pink-haired maid appeared in front of her.

"Is it time for punishment?" Virgo asked,rather unemotionally.

Lucy shook her head. "Virgo,I want you to keep me and Wendy company to guard the girl in the infirmary."

"As you wish,princess.I'll go prepare some tea while waiting." Lucy nodded and Virgo left to find Mira.

"Why guard her?" Gray asked.

"First of all,put some pants on." Erza pointed at him wearing nothing but boxers. "Second,we may not know if she's an enemy or not. Lucy and Wendy are two powerful mages. I'm sure they can handle it when things get out of hand."And with that,she returned eating her cake.

A few hours had passed,finally Wendy saw movement on her face. Lucy went outside to tell them the news. The group gathered at the stranger's bed. She slowly opened her eyes. They were beautiful emerald-colored eyes. She rubbed her head and let out a small groan. The group had curious stares pointed at her. Wendy offered her some water.

"T-thank you," she said shyly. She took the glass and sipped some water. "Thank you very much for helping me," she said. "Um... may I ask where I am?"

"Your at Magnolia's Fairy Tail Guild." Erza said with a calm,cool tone.

"Fairy...Tail?" this silenced the girl for a while. Then she let out a wild scream that scared everybody. "Oh,no! I'm nowhere near my home!" she panicked.

"Calm down," Charles scolded. "Now,where are you from,excactly."

"Well,I'm from the Eastern part of Fiore. A little bit farther away from any civillization. I,alone,lived there." she said. Her brows dropped. Erza noticed the sadness in her eyes,but did not bother it yet.

"What's your name?" Gray asked the brown haired woman,trying to look cool.

"My name?" she asked innocently. "My name is Lina. Who might you be,kind strangers?"

"My name is Erza." said the scarlet haired mage wearing armor.

"Aye!" the blue cat surprised her,and she laughed nervously.

"My name is Happy." said the blue cat. "And hers is Charles." he pointed at the white cat.

"Nice to meet you." she said with a smile.

"My name is Gray." he said,again trying to look cool.

Lina giggled and can't stop. "What's so funny?" Gray asked. Erza pointed at him,realizing that his down to his boxers blushed madly and tried to look for his pants.

"The name's Natsu!" said the pink-haired male.

"And I'm Wendy." She looked down and saw a young girl with blue hair.

"Dragon Slayers!" she tried to stand up,but she was still recovering. "Curse this legs of mine."

"Hey don't say that. They're healing properly so don't worry." Wendy put a small bandage at a scar on her leg.

"Thank you. But can I please have some space? As you can see,my clothes are..." she said leaning,exposing her large breasts. Gray and Natsu were unknowingly staring hard,until Erza smacked them in the head.

"It's not polite to stare." she said coldly.

"A-aye sir!" the two cowered. The brunnette laughed but stopped to focus. She placed her hands above her chest,forming a small circle. With a deep breath, bright,white light appeared on the circle. She spread her arms and she levitated. The light engulfed her whole body.

"Requip magic?" Erza gawked. "No... what is it?"

When the light faded,she was standing properly,her body showed no signs of fatigue and the wounds have healed completely. She had a tube top with long sleeves that slightly covered her hands. The sleeves were white on the left side,black on the right. She wore gloves with the same color alteration. She wore a short skirt with a slight tear on the side. She was wearing black boots.

"Wow," Wendy said in amazement. "How did you do that?"

"Self-repair magic." she explained. "It replenishes my body as well as the materials I have such as clothes and items and such. But I can only do it when I'm conscious. So thank you,little dragon slayer,for taking care of me." she patted the bluennette on the head. She responded with a big smile.

"Wait," Lucy interrupted the happy moment. "How did you know that she's a dragon slayer?"

"I can tell that he's also a dragon slayer." she said,pointing to the amazed Natsu.

"Answer the question,please." Erza said.

"My family has the innate ability to sense dragon's magic,even when they are out of this dimension. My family..." she shuddered at the last word. Erza notices again.

"Really?" asked the now fired-up Natsu. "You can track them down?"

She nodded silently,but held her head down. Natsu saw she was worried.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Tummy ache?"

"Now how could you suggest that?" Lucy screamed.

"I should go..." she said as she was exiting the infimary.

"Wait!" Wendy yelled. "Can you really track dragons?" Lina turned to her.

"I can't lie to those who saved my life," she began. "That's the custom of my family..." again she shuddered at the word.

"What excactly happened to your family?" Erza asked,finally having the courage to point it out. Lina hung her mouth in shock for a bit,then looked up and let out a soft chuckle.

"Was I really that easy to read?" she asked. Erza nodded.

"Well,it can't be helped. I will tell you,tomorrow. Not now... not now..." Erza understood and offered her to stay with Lucy.

"What? But..." she exclaimed. The brunnette felt even worse,not being wanted. "Err... Okay,fine. But I warn you. Some stupid cat might try to flirt with you." she said.

"Him?" she giggled and pointed at Happy.

"No,not him. I... nevermind,but don't say I didn't warn you." she sighed.

"I understand. Thank you very much." she said with a smile.

The two females were walking to Lucy's house. Lucy was balancing herself on the lining by river as usual,with Plue by her side. Lina was looking intently at Plue,amazed at how cute the little creature is.

"So,your'e a Celestial Wizard?" she asked,now looking at the Keys.

"Yes,I am." she anwered solemnly. "How about you,what are your powers? Besides tracking down dragons,of course."

"I... I'll tell you later." she said hesitantly. Lucy didn't bother to ask why,but still she was curious.

When they arrived,Lucy opened the door and entered. Lina followed a bit shy. When she got to her bedroom,a flash of light engulfed the room. When the light faded,they saw a man with strawberry blonde hair,wearing a black suit and a tiger-stripped tie.

Lucy rubbed a throbbing vein on her forehead. "This is the cat I was mentioning earlier."

Lina tilted her head. "Really? He doesn't look like a cat."

"He's Leo the Lion,"she introduced. "The Leader of the Twelve Zodiac Spirits."

Loke gave her a smirk and said,"You are proud of having me,princess."

Lina's eyes widened. "Your'e a princess?" she asked in amazement.

The blonde mage sighed. "Loke,stop calling me that. Anyway,I have a guest tonight,so behave yourself."

He looked over and saw the brunnette. His eyes widened a bit,then held her hand.

He kissed it,and look at her with passionate eyes. "Such a vision of loveliness!" he exclaimed.

Lina blushed and pulled her hand away. Loke was about to talk when Lucy smacked him on the head.

"I told you to behave yourself!" she scolded. "And Lina,try not to fall for his cheap tricks. He's a real playboy."

"Oh come on,Lucy." he held Lucy's waist and pulled her beside him. "I was just kidding around. I will never leave my princess."

Lina looked at the two. She was silent for a few moments,but she adored looking at them.

"You two look like a young married couple." LIna said then giggled.

"What?" Lucy exclaimed,obviously blushing at the thought.

"See," Loke said. "Even she thinks we look like a couple. We we're meant for each other!" he declared.

Lucy kept struggling,and Loke kept on hugging even tighter. Lina saw all this and was smiling. Then her eyes dropped,reminding her of a happy memory that is gone now. Lucy saw her went sad. She stopped struggling,and Loke let her go. Lina sat by the bed and put her hands over her face.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked.

"It's nothing." she said with a sad expression. She shook it off and smiled again. "You wanted to see my powers,right?"

"Oh...uh yeah,I guess." she said,startled by how fast she can move on. Though she can see sadness in her eyes.

Lina pulled out a small ball in her small bag. She threw it a bit high and landed on the floor. It kept bouncing,and Lucy was confused as to how she will use that. While the ball is bouncing,Lina pointed her finger on the ball. The ball instantly stopped and floated in the air. It floated towards her and landed on her hand. Lucy gawked in amazement.

"Telekenesis... I think that's what it's called here." she said smiling.

"Yeah..." Lucy was still shocked. But smiled and said, "That was amazing!"

"Actually," Lina said calmly. "I have one more ability. But I can't tell you. Because I'll be showing it to you tomorrow."

Lucy gave her a smile. Loke pulled Lucy away and hugged her from behind.

"Lucy," he purred. "I love you so much."

Lucy blushed even more. Lina giggled and was glad they were her friends.

"Get away from me,Loke. Come on!" she squealed.

Loke laughed and looked at Lina. She sat straight and he gave her a smile before vanishing.

"Jerk..." Lucy mumbled. "Come on,Lina. Let's get ready for bed."

"Oh...right." She nodded.

They took turns taking a bath. Lucy changed in her pajymas and Lina wore the same clothes. They shared the bed and slept peacefully.

* * *

**A big thank you to Rhov-sensei!**

**I had this Idea because of her advice!**

**Thank you! ^_^**

* * *

_Research on the name "Lina"_

_Yup,I did research... XD I guess Rhov-sensei's rubbing off on me!_

_**Lina (Arabic: لينا)** is a common female given name in Sweden, especially among those born after 1980. It was initially used as a shortened form of names such as Karolina, Nikolina,Adelina and Evelina but eventually became a name in its own right. Since "-lina" is a diminutive suffix, it has no meaning of its own in Swedish. The Danish and Norwegian form is "Line"._

_Lina is also a short form of any female name ending in "-lina", such as Angelina, Evangelina, Paulina and Carolina._

_Lina is the female form of Linas, a common given name among people of Lithuanian descent. It can also be construed as a rare feminine form of Linus._

_In Arabic "Lina" (لينة) refers to a small, young palm tree. It means "tender" or "tenderness". In Greek it refers to the olive. Crown used for the hero._

_The name Lina also has roots in France, Italy, Greece and China. In Chinese, "Li" (丽) means "pretty" and "Na" (娜) means "elegant"._

* * *

I guess that being tender is another way of complementing Natsu's destructive attitude. Since they have opposite personalities!

I hope more people read and review my stories! T_T I will be uploading Chapters 2-5 soon,but I don't think I'm gonna stop there. ^_^


	2. Dragons of Water and Ice

_"The loss of a family knows no greater grief"_

_-NewMusic098_

**Chapter 2:**

**Dragons of Ice and Water**

* * *

The next morning, Lucy and Lina met with Erza and the group.

"So you joined Fairy Tail?" Erza asked,seeing the mark on her neck. She nodded and smiled.

"I won't be able to go back home for a while. So I settled myself here." she said.

"Very well,it's nice to add new members to the Guild." the redhead said.

"Welcome to the guild." Wendy said smiling. Lina smiled then looked serious.

"Listen," she began. "I know I said I can track dragon's magic. That's true but..." she paused,looking hesitant. "...I can't lie to you. I despise Dragon Slayers."

Natsu and Wendy were shocked to hear this.

"W-why? You surely didn't look like you hate us." Wendy asked.

"I know. But I didn't want to upset you. And you all seem really nice... it's just my family..." she lowered her head,hiding the tears forming in her eyes. Lucy patted her shoulder to know that it's alright.

"My family..." she said with a shivering voice. "...They died in the hands of Dragon Slayers..."

Their eyes widened at the fact that there were other Dragon Slayers. "Tell us what happened." Erza insisted.

"It began when I was only a child. My family were trackers,but instead of killing dragons or selling them,they were protecting the Dragons. They raised me to be the same. I took care of several dragons... Igneel, Grandine,Metallicana,they were so fierce,but kind and gentle,too."

Natsu was shaking when he heard Igneel's name. "You...you know Igneel?"

"And Grandine..." Wendy started to cry. Gajeel,who was apparently eavesdropping,choked a bit on the iron bar he was eating.

"Fire,Sky,and Metal." she sighed. "I miss them. Even Suiro the Water Dragon. All of them left when there was no one after them anymore. They each found a child of their own to train and to nurture. But Suiro,he was the luckiest. He found twins whom he claimed his own. I was so happy for them. Until one day..." Lina bit her lip,afraid of saying anything more. "Until one day,years after the dragons' disappearance,the twins,Glaciem and Aqua,who were Suiro's children,came to our home. They were outraged that Suiro left them. Apparently,Suiro told them about us,and after years of searching,finally found us. They demanded to know where the dragons had gone and why they left. We knew nothing about their disappearances. But..." tears came flooding her face. "Despite saying that,they were unconvinced and... they killed my parents in cold blood."

Everyone felt the atmosphere more suffocating. They could easily understand why she'd hate Dragon Slayers.

"Before they died,my parents cast a spell on me that prevented any Dragon attacks to hit me. Unfortunately,they knew more than that. The other twin,Glaiciem,has the ability to turn his Water Dragon attack into ice. It was a unique trait,and my parent's spell didn't do much to protect me. I struggled to fight,and ran as fast as I could and reached a forest. I don't know where else to go,so I went in. I ran for what seemed like hours,since I know that Dragon Slayers can track me by scent. And I can track them by their aura,their magic. I knew they were close. I kept running. Suddenly I tripped and fell on a small inclined hill. I tried to stand up,but my legs were numb. I saw that it got grazed by a poisonous thorn of a plant."

"I crawled until I reached a small river. The current can wash me to a town,or at least that's what I thought. I applied a weak medicine to stop the poison to spread for a set amount of time. I ate a pill that got rid of my scent. It still affects me,until now. I reached my bag and pulled out a floatation device. I climed onto it and let the river wash me away. A few days later, I woke up at the edge of a small forest. I tried to stand,but my legs still felt numb,and the poison reached my upper body. The only parts I can move were my arms and my head."

Lucy was tearing up,listening to her story,wishing that she could've done something.

"I crawled as far as my body can carry me. I reached the edge of your city,and was found by Lucy."

"So the gashes on your clothes yesterday..." Erza pointed out.

"They were attacks. Claws of the Water Dragon. It hurt pretty badly since it turns to ice." she chuckled then lowered her head. "I didn't know of my true abilities until I touched one of the Dragon Slayers. They left after I hit one them,giving me a chance to escape."

"True...abilities?" Lucy wondered. Lina nodded and pointed at the pink-haired Dragon Slayer.

"Natsu,I want you to attack me with all you've got." she said with determination.

"What? Your kidding!" Erza gasped. "You just recovered from a fight. Are you trying to kill yourself?"

"It's okay,Erza." Lina assured. "Natsu,do it."

"Okay,here goes!" Natsu lit up and charged up for his attack. He concentrated all his magic in his right hand and leaped towards Lina. Erza was about to stop him but Lina looked at her with silent,but meaningful glares. She understood that it was something she has to do.

With one finger,she stopped Natsu's full attack and dispersed his fire. He was shocked. He fell down onto the table. He tried to stand but his body felt weak.

"Natsu,I'm sorry." she apoligized. "I have the ability to completely weaken a Dragon or a Dragon Slayer by dispersing their magic. Just hold still. I'm gonna heal you,okay?"

She placed both hands on either side of the still shocked Natsu. With a deep breath,light covered and engulfed Natsu. When the light faded,he was completely fine.

"Still,even with this ability,I can't beat Aqua and Glaciem." she said. "I can only weaken one Dragon Slayer,then my magic completely drains. Though my self-repair magic is effective,it also uses a great amount of magic. The twins can't be beaten by me alone. They're probably terrorizing a town as I speak,looking for me. I..."she couldn't finish her sentence and fainted. Natsu caught her in his arms. He sat on Lina's chair and placed her on his lap. She still hasn't got her scent,due to the effects of the pill,so Natsu could smell the fear coming out of her.

"She's still afraid," he said. "We have to do something to help her." looking down on her." Everyone nodded silently. They were all sad because of the story.

**Her story was tragic,no?**

**Chapter 3 will reveal a bit of romance between Natsu and Lina...**

* * *

**_Research of the names of Aqua and Glaciem_**

***Aqua-Latin word for "Water"**

***Glaciem-Latin word for "Ice"**

**I decided to name them according to the ability they possess. It's fitting since they're not identical twins.**

****_**Suiro is Japanese for "Water Dragon" appropriate names,don't you think?**_


	3. Dragon's Silent Feelings

_"In the deepest part of a beast's heart,_

_lies a fire that cannot be doused by even_

_the strongest of enemies..."_

_-Fire of Passion -NewMusic098_

**Chapter 3:**

**Dragon's Silent Feelings**

* * *

Lina fainted due to the massive loss of her magic. Natsu was unconsciously stroking Lina's beautiful brown hair. He was looking straight in her face. His eyes gazed down towards her lips. He was only inches away from her face when Gray faked a cough that caught Natsu's attention.

"You just said she's still afraid,right? Don't you think that kissing her might make it worse?" he said pointing to Natsu's puckered lips. He turned different shades of pink,then panicked. He sat straight and didn't look at Lina. Gray laughed at how easy the pink-haired Dragon Slayer gets tantilized by the vision of a pretty girl.

Natsu was pouting and blushing like crazy,then looked over to Lina. She woke up from the sudden movement of the Dragon Slayer. She had her eyes half-open,still feeling dizzy from the loss of magic.

"I warned you about this already." Erza said.

The brunnette sat up and looked at Erza,still shaking from the fear of her memory. "I...I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry,it's not your fault." Lina looked beside her and saw Natsu. She looked down and realized she was sitting on his lap. He didn't realize that he was holding Lina on the hips. She was blushing as fiercely as Natsu did. The shaking stopped,but she was embarassed to be in the arms of a handsome man without truly knowing him.

"Natsu..." she whispered while looking down. He saw his hand on her hips. He panicked,moved his hand away and let Lina sit beside him,not on top of him.

"I'm sorry!" Natsu said childishly. Lina laughed and pet him on the head. Natsu backed away,blushing some more.

"You know," Lina said as she looked at the whole group. "I thought that I passed by more than one town before coming here. But I didn't wake up in any other town other than this city." she sighed. "I wonder why?"

"I know why!" Everyone except Lina was shocked. There was movement in her bag. She took out a small egg. It was the one causing the movement.

"Hey,Lina." the egg said. "You think you can get me out of here? It's kinda hot in here."

"I'm sorry Puggo,I forgot you were with me." She placed the egg on the table and pushed the button on top of the egg. When she pushed it, bright light came out of the egg. It cracked and broke. Inside was a small pig no larger than Happy.

"About time you got me out. How could you forget about your guardian like that?" Puggo scolded.

"I said I'm sorry! Anyway,guys," she looked over the stunned group. "This is my guardian,Puggo. The egg he came out of were once used to hide the dragons from poachers. It's a lot bigger compared to this."

He stood up and gave a salute. "Nice to meet you!" Lucy and Erza squealed at how cute he is. He blushed then ran to Lina. He buried himself in Lina's chest.

"Lucky swine..." Natsu whispered. Gray overheard and teased him.

"What was that,Natsu? Are you jeawous of the piggy wiggy?" he laughed but didn't last. Natsu punched his face and he fell back.

"You perverted creep! I'll kill you for that!"

"Bring it on! Your'e the bigger pervert here!"

The two began fighting,which started an all-out war in the guild. Lina looked confused and turned to Erza and Lucy. Lucy laughed nervously and Erza shook her head.

"It's better if you don't know." Erza said.

Lina looked over to Puggo,then lifted him up. Puggo was as cute as a button! She placed him back on the table.

"Puggo," she began. "You said you knew why we ended up here and not in the other towns,right? Care to explain?"

Puggo dusted himself and said, "Oh,yeah. It started like this. The townspeople there saw you in the river with those wounds and stuff,you weren't moving and thought you were dead. They didn't even bother to check your pulse. Instead of helping you out,each town we passed by just pushed you further in the river. They abandoned you without even glancing at you. They we're meanies!"

Lina looked sad and almost began to cry,but Natsu butted in and said, "Don't worry,Lina. If you hadn't stopped here,and if Lucy never found you,you wouldn't be able to meet us!"

She stared at Natsu. He blushed a bit,but both of them laughed at the same time.

"That's true,Natsu. Thanks,I needed that." she sighed. She turned to Puggo,who was tugging her by the sleeve.

"Where are we staying right now?" he asked with a cute face.

"We're staying at Lucy's house. Say 'hi' to her." She turned Puggo to Lucy's direction.

"Hi~!" Puggo said with a snort. Lucy's eyes widened and squealed because he's so cute.

"Can I hold him?" Lucy asked.

"Of course you can. Be nice,Puggo."

Puggo glared at Lina. "I'm your Guardian! Why are you treating me like your pet?"

Lina smiled and said, "Because you look so cute!"

Puggo gave her a smirk. "That's all I wanted to hear. Here I come,Lucy!" He jumped and Lucy caught him.

"He looks so cute! Wait,hold on." Lucy put Puggo down and and grabbed one of her Silver Keys.

"Gate of Canis Minor,I open thee! Nikora! With a puff of smoke a white figure with a carrot-like nose appeared.

"Puuuuuuunnnnn~" it said.

"So cute!" Lina said. Puggo and Plue looked at each other,and gave a somehow thumb of approval. Happy joins them and were dancing on the table. The women were laughing because of the entertainment.

Natsu then sits beside Lina again. He still stares at her,but this time he has control over them. Whenever Lina looks at him,he would look at another direction,then look at her again.

"Oh,I forgot." Puggo left the two who are still dancing. "The pill I gave you to hide your scent will be wearing off in 3,2,1... NOW!"

With that being said,mist emanated from Lina. A few seconds later,it dissipated and she's back to normal. Natsu's mouth hung open and his eyes widened when Lina's scent overpowered all of his senses. She smelled like flowers at the Tropics. Her fragrance engulfed him completely. He grabbed Lina's arm,smelling her some more. Lina tried to pull her arm,but Natsu wouldn't let go. He smelled her arm up to her ear. Lina gasped. He's acting on pure instinct alone. Gray punched him in the face,knocking him enough to come back to his senses.

"You are such a pervert,Natsu!" Gray yelled.

"Wh-wha?" Natsu asked in confusion. Not remembering what he did. Erza was cracking her knuckles. Natsu heard this and turned around. He saw Erza's dark aura and her eyes turned red,fixed on him.

"What you did was unforgivable! You will be punished." Erza said darkly.

Virgo suddenly appeared. "Did someone say 'punish'?"

Lucy shook her head. "We weren't talking about you. But since your here,Natsu's been bad,punish him with Erza."

Virgo looked at the terrified Natsu.

"As you wish." She walked over to Erza and whispered something in her ear. She made an evil grin and looked at Natsu. This terrified Natsu even more.

"Lina,save me!" he cried out. But Lucy already got her attention and was playing with Plue and Happy. His mouth hung open while he was being dragged by Erza to the other side of the guild.

"This will be your punishment for doing that to Lina." She gave him a sharp-dagger glare.

"But I didn't mean it!" he cried out as he was thrown up high in the air. Erza jumped into the air then dropkicked him to the other side of the guild. On the other side,Virgo was standing there holding a large table like a baseball bat.

"You will be punished." Virgo said. She then slammed the table at him. He flew to the other side. It got smashed,but she had another one. They were playing with Natsu like that for minutes. When Virgo hit Natsu with the sixth and last table,Erza grabbed him and dropped him on the table.

"I hope that teaches you a lesson not to be perverted like that." Erza scolded. Virgo nodded in agreement then vanished.

"Natsu,what happened to you? You look so beat up." Happy asked while flying over to him.

"Happy," he whimpered. "Why didn't you save me?"

Happy flew in a small circle and said, "Lucy showed me a new toy and I was playing it with Puggo and Plue. I guess I didn't hear you."

Erza looked at Lina. "Tell me again when he acts strangely towards you,alright?" Lina nodded nervously. If she didn't agree,she might beat her up next!

"They are all powerful mages." she thought to herself. "I hope they can help me beat Glaciem and Aqua." After that thought,she healed Natsu again,who was instantly up and breathing fire again. He was roaring something about challenging Gray for a fight again.

"At this rate,I'll faint again in matter of minutes." she sighed.

Lucy laughed and said, "That's just how they are. But aren't they fun?"

"I guess." she glanced at the violent war that was behind them and laughed. "They really are. I'm sure glad to be here."

Natsu looked at Lina again. Her scent was still conquering his senses. She smiled at him and he blushed.

"Her scent is so powerful." he thought. "She still overwhelms me at this distance. I wonder how I'd feel when we're...connected?" His thought was stopped by an uppercut from Gray. He stood up and returned it with a straight jab. He looked at Lina again. Seeing her laughing and smiling with the others somehow made Natsu just as happy.

Weeks had passed. Lina has joined Team Natsu and they always went on dangerous missions. They know that they'll be okay,but Natsu kept a close eye on Lina. Some times,they would head out on a mission,just the two of them. He still randomly sniffs Lina,like instinct. But Lina developed a habit to hit Natsu whenever he does that. They were always teased by Mira saying that they the mission is more of a "date". They would look at each other and blush like crazy.

On ocassion,some of their missions prove to be difficult. Lina would be some times paralyzed by fear,so Natsu would always come to her rescue. He even took on a giant ship that was after her when they set out to capture some magic thieves. He would over-react when she was bruised just a bit. He would seek out the source of the injury. And if it's something you can beat,Natsu will challenge it to a fight. Lina kept on insisting that he doesn't need to pamper her,but she's secretly happy about his protective side.

One day when the two we're walking around a town they stayed in after a mission,they overheard a conversation that frightened Lina.

"Hey,did you hear?" the merchant asked. "The harbor town got attacked a few days ago."

"Really?" asked the customer. "That's horrible. Who were the attackers?"

"I don't know." answered the merchant. "But I heard they had been looking for a person. They said something about finding their 'father'."

"Well I hope that they find the person their looking for. That smug shouldn't be hiding at all! It's costing other people grief." After their talk,the customer went away.

"Natsu," Lina whispered. "Do you think it's them? Do you think they're looking for me?"

Natsu had a serious look and said, "I don't know for sure,but you can count on me to protect you."

"Thank you,Natsu. I can always count on you." she said blushing a bit.

Natsu's eyes were fixed on her. Until he remembered something he had to give to her.

"Um...Lina," he said nervously. "I have something to give you. I...I don't know if you'd like it but..." he pulled out a necklace from the travel bag he had. It had a figure of a Dragon Head. It's eyes were encrusted with beautiful gems.

"It'll let me know if your'e in trouble as long as you keep it on." Natsu had one of his goofy grins.

Lina smiled and held out the necklace,then she put it on.

"That's so sweet. Thank you." she said. Her eyes lowered and she looked up in the sky.

"Maybe,"she said. "Just maybe,I could face the Suiro Twins without being scared. As long as I know you'll come running to save me. I don't know. It's silly." she chuckled.

"No it's not!" Natsu interrupted. "I gave you that necklace,because I would always want to come to you,help you,save you if I have to." His eyes gleamed with determination and passion. "If the day comes you face those twins,me,Erza,Lucy and even that exhibisionist would be there to help you. We will not leave you behind. My pride wouldn't allow that!"

Lina's heart skipped a beat and time seems to have stopped. She was staring into Natsu's eyes,filled with passion and determination. She walked up to him and gave him a hug.

"You truly are a child of a Dragon. Filled with pride,but at the same time,filled with kindness." she let go and looked up to him.

"We should go. If we leave town now,we'll be in Magnolia tomorrow."

"N-no," Natsu protested. "Let's take the train."

"But Natsu,you would get-"

"It's okay,the faster we get to Magnolia,the better chance that we could protect you." He held her hand and were walking to the train staion.

"Let's hurry. If we don't,we're gonna miss the train." he said. She smiled and just did what she was told.

He knew he can't handle transportation,but it somehow felt less nauseous when he's near Lina. Her tropical scent would balance him out and make him less sick. He was willing to protect her,even at the cost of his life. He didn't want to see her hurt. He doesn't want to see the other teammates get hurt,too. But it's different with Lina. He wanted to stay with her,protect her and care for her. He didn't care about what comes their way,he won't be separated from her.

"I vow to protect you," he thought solemnly. "my mate_..._"

"Did you say something,Natsu?" Lina asked. Natsu just shook his head and went on board the train.

* * *

_I removed the Latin word..._

It annoys me to say this but,it doesn't add to the story very well. But he still vowed to protect her either way! XD

_About Lina's scent Natsu talked about. The flower where I got it from is an **African Tulip**,also known as **Flame-of-the-Forest.**_

_Fitting way to attract Natsu... By fire! hihi ^_^_

_Chapter 4 will be coming soon,as soon as I can think of something! XD_


	4. Gesture of Love

_"Love can be found even in_

_the most simplest of gestures"_

_-Gesture of Love -NewMusic098_

**Chapter 4:**

**Gesture of Love**

During the completion of a mission,Erza decided to celebrate with her friends. They settled down on an inn in a town that was on the foot of a mountain. They ordered room service,and a spectacular meal that was. A whole chicken bathe with gravy,whole lobster with butter,giant grilled fish,and so much more. And they had sake for drinks. It's not strong,just strong enough to feel the buzz.

Lina watched as Natsu and Gray devoured the food like animals. She laughed and thought it was cute. Their acting like children,but their mature enough to be friendly to each other while eating. Natsu is going to grab the last piece of chicken,when Gray's hand also grabbed it.

"Hey! Hands off,exhibisionist!" Natsu screamed.

"It's mine,Natsu! Get something else."

"Over my dead body!" They started to fight and flail around the room. Erza got annoyed and threw them outside.

"If your just going to fight,get out of here and do it somewhere else!" Erza growled. She then ate the last piece of chicken that they were fighting about. They returned inside,skulking that Erza ate the last piece.

Lina giggled. So much for being friendly! But hey,they may be like that,but their truthful and loyal friends.

After eating,the boys cleaned up the mess they made while fighting,and Erza rang for the maids to bring back the food. Everyone went to the hot springs. The baths,luckily,are separated. The girls went inside and huddled together.

"So Lina," Lucy began. "You and Natsu are spending an awful lot of time with each other. Are you two,_dating?_"

"I noticed that,too. And when did he gave you that necklace with the dragon head?" Erza wondered.

Lina laughed nervously and said, "Let me see. We're not dating,and the dragon necklace was a gift meant to protect me. Though he shouldn't need it since he's doing it flawlessly." She remembered the day she got the necklace. Especially the time she gave him a hug. The thought made her blush. Seeing this,the other girls' eyes widened.

Lina waved her hand across her face and said,"It's...it's not what you think!"

"Oh,really?" Lucy teased. "A happy memory? You haven't had that in a while."

"That's true. Perhaps she's remembering the day he got her that necklace." Erza deduced. Lina's blush grew deeper.

"Oh? So I was right?" Erza asked. She tried to deny it,but couldn't find the heart.

"Yes." she sighed. "I was thinking about the necklace." There was a moment of silence. Finally Erza said something.

"Lina..." Erza hesitated to ask. "Do you...I mean...Do you _like_ Natsu?"

The brunnette submerged in the hot springs even more.

"Saying that I _like_ him is a bit of an understatement..." she whispered.

The girls heard enough and were conveinced. Lucy sighed in disappointment. Lina looked upset that her friend was disappointed.

"Oh,no! It's nothing like that! I just made a bet to Erza that Natsu will be too dense for love... I'm sorry for doing that." Lucy apoligized.

"It's okay,I guess." she sighed. "I wonder if he really is..."

"Then let's find out..." Erza said. "Natsu already left the hot springs a few minutes ago. Right now,he's got the room to himself."

"You can find out for yourself if he feels the same way you do."

Erza stood up and offered to help the brunnette up. They stood up and changed. Lina was having second thoughts,so Erza and Lucy were dragging her through the corridors.

"You can do it,Lina!" they quietly cheered.

They reached the door to the men's room. Lina slowly opened the door. When she looked behind her,Erza hasd a stiff glare at her,so she can't escape. She opened the door halfway and looked inside. It was dark. No light except for the full moon that night that shone through the window. Natsu was sitting beside that window,resting his head in his hand. He turned around quickly,because he knew her scent very well. She saw Lina wearing a black yukata with white and red flower prints. He was stunned at how beautiful she was in the light of the moon.

"Natsu I...can I come in?" she looked hesitant.

"Sure,no one's here but me."

She walked a few more steps toward Natsu. She remembered Erza's death glare,so she couldn't walk out now.

"What is it?" Natsu asked. Lina's face blushed,she opened her mouth,but no sound was coming out of them. Finally,with every ounce of willpower she had,she forced herself to talk.

"I...want to know." she said,a bit shaky,but clear. "The past week of us spending time together,were you...just thinking of me as a...friend?"

Natsu lowered his head,not looking at Lina. Hearing those words did made him wonder. Was she just a friend? or something more? He quietly vowed to protect her the day she got the necklace,right? So maybe she was something more. Suddenly,Lina crept closer to him. His senses were giving out easily. Her scent was almost ten times more overwhelming than it used to. It was too much for Natsu.

He cursed under his breath. Then he patted the mat beside him so Lina could sit there. When she was seated,Natsu looked at her. She saw a predatory glare with a gleam of passion. She couldn't help but feel scared.

He held her hand and placed it on his chest. She was surprised that he was doing this without talking.

"Lina..." he said in a low,airy voice. "I gave you that necklace for a reason. I've never given anyone anything before. Except rent money for Lucy. And..." she wanted him to continue,so she patted his shoulder to make him feel better.

He leaned towards her,making her fall to the floor. He trapped her by extending both arms in either of her shoulders. He leaned lower,their faces were at full view with each other.

"Lina,I...I love you. I really do..." he declared.

"I don't see you as just my friend. You are more special to me. My father,Igneel,has already met you in the past hasn't he? That's just proves your a kind,beautiful person. Inside and out. No one can ever take you away from me. They have to pry you from my cold dead hands before they could do that."

Lina was breath-taken. "Natsu,I..." she choked on her own words for a bit,but she let everything out. "Natsu...I love you,too. And you can be a bit childish at times,but everything you do is for your friends. Your so loyal and caring." She laughs and say, "You know what, I really thought you were after Lucy."

The eavesdropping Celestial Wizard gawked in shock.

"I was,but Loke has her already." Behind the Celestial Wizard,the Lion appeared and almost shocked her again.

"Damn right,you are." he whispered into her ear.

"And besides," Natsu said with another goofy grin with a slight blush. "The only woman I see in my eyes now,is you..."

Lina's eyes widened and she smiled. The Dragon Slayer leaned in a little lower before their lips met. Her soft lips felt the heat from his breath. She hummed and opened her mouth slightly. Natsu took this as an invitation and dipped his tongue inside her mouth. He felt his body become hot. Tasting her like this reminded him of a thought he had when he first smelled Lina's scent. He asked how he'd feel when their connected. Their not even half-through and he was already about to lose control. He held her in the hips with one hand,and pulled her yukata,yanking her closer with the other. She responded by pulling on his scarf just a bit.

Natsu carried her and laid her on the bed. They continued kissing passionately,getting more intense each minute. The girls were outside,with the Lion,peeking through the door.

"He's good." Loke praised.

"I win,Lucy." Erza whispered.

"Okay." Lucy said,not bothering to look. "I just want to see them enjoy themselves."

"Enjoy who?" a loud voice came from behind that shocked the girls. They were so surprised,they accidentally opened the door and they stumbled into the room.

"Gray!" the girls yelled. Gray was apoligized.

"Why were you hiding there anyway?" Gray asked.

"Guys!" another girl called. They looked over to see Natsu on top of Lina. Gray's jaw dropped when he saw Natsu lightly biting Lina's neck and is in the midst of removing Lina's yukata. He looked down and saw Lina's shocked and flushed face. Natsu let go of Lina's neck and yukata and extended his arms for balance. He gave a death glare to Gray.

"Gray! I'll kill you!" he growled in pure rage. But before he could jump on him,Lina grabbed him by the scarf and pulled him close,his ear near her mouth.

"It can wait til tommorow." she whispered. "I love you." Natsu aligned his face to hers and kissed her.

"I love you,too. Proudly and truthfully." he queitly declared. He glared at Gray again. He jumped off of Lina and lit his fists. A fight wildly began. Erza threw rock-hard pillows on their heads.

"A pillow fight? Bring it on!" Gray exclaimed.

"Your not getting away from me that easily,you mood killer!" Natsu roared.

"Erza,were just gonna go." Lucy said,pointing to the door.

"You sure you don't want to stay? Okay then,keep our room clean,alright?" Erza said before throwing more pillows at Natsu's direction.

They nodded before leaving. They quietly crawled outside,avoiding the pillows as much as they could. Lina and Lucy got out panting.

"That was intense!" Lucy said in excitement. "Though I'm sorry we killed the mood, we..." she saw Lina covering her neck.

"Look..." Lina whispered. Lucy saw a brown mark on her white Fairy Tail mark.

"I guess that proves that I'm his now,huh?" Lina asked. Lucy nodded and smiled at their love blossoming quickly.

"We should go on a double date some times,Lucy. Me and Natsu and You and Leo!" she said in excitement.

"Uh... No thanks." she whispered,afraid that Loke would hear. They both looked at each other and laughed. They stood up and opened the door to their rooms,which was right beside the room the boys were in. They laid near each other after closing the door.

"Lucy," Lina whispered. "I thought I would hate Dragon Slayers. But when I'm with Natsu,it doesn't seem like I care whether or not he's a Dragon Slayer."

Lucy propped one elbow to lift her slightly. "That's what love does,Lina. You don't care about power,about race,about age or hell,even about gender!" she exclaimed. "The important thing is seeing the person you love be happy by your side."

"I see..." Lina said. She drifted to sleep thinking about her first kiss. Lucy joined her a few minutes later. They slept peacefully despite the racket caused in the other room.


	5. When your Afraid

_"A man who feels useless is a cowardly man;_

_A man who is afraid is a useless man."_

_-NewMusic098_

**Chapter 5:**

**When your Afraid**

Everyone woke up early next morning,though Natsu and Gray were still a bit sore. Who would've thought pillows could do that much damage? After breakfast and a bit of complaining,they were all packed up and ready to go. They were in a rush to get back to Magnolia,possibly go on another mission,or simply just enjoy their hard earned reward.

They walked up the mountain,as Erza instructed. She mumbled something about dreaming of a shortcut there. Well,no arguements heard. At least when there were,they might bite their tongues in half and score a lump on the head. Natsu learned that the hard way. It only took them less than an hour to get completely lost.

"Ah,great. Now we're lost." Natsu whined.

"I really need a bathroom right now." Lucy whimpered.

Gray pointed at some bushes and said, "Why not do it there?" Before he could laugh,two hands,one in the form of a fist,blazed with fire. And the other one slapped across his face. So both his cheeks were a sizzling red.

"Lucy isn't a pig like you!" Lina and Natsu said. Gray was wide-eyed on how much coordination they already had.

He rubbed his swollen cheek and said, "Yep,you two are perfect for each other. Both nutjobs." Then he was hit by the same punch-slap combo,this time in the other side. So now Gray's cheeks was like a big red apple.

"How dare you call us that? Do you have a deathwish?" again,they both yelled at the same time.

"Now that's just creepy..." Happy said. Lina pouted and huffed,then giggled. Natsu put his hand in the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. They had such a happy relationship.

They kept walking around the forest. When it got dark,they got tired and decided to take a rest on a clearing by the river. The river was clear. It reflected the waning moon and the stars that shone that night. It was perfect for an evening swim.

"Come on,Erza," Happy said. "I've been flying around for hours. Can I rest with you guys?"

"You need to find any signs of a city." Erza ordered.

"But..." Happy whined.

Erza looked stern at the moment,but gave him a solid nod. He flopped down near the fire they created to warm himself up. Natsu came back with Lina after foreging through the woods. He brought with him some fish and meat. And also some wood for the fire. Lina gahtered some herbs,spices and fruit.

Lucy smiled when she saw the two. "You know,if we left you two here,even for a month. You two could survive on pure instinct alone."

"Well I do have a keen sense of woman's intuition." she said. "And Natsu is very reliable at this kind of stuff,if you nag him about it."

"But I wouldn't want Natsu to run on pure instinct alone." she added. "We might end up in a situation where things can get very sticky. Right,Natsu?" She thought about what happened,then she giggled. Natsu was blushing,but he had a smile on his face.

"What exactly happened? Is that why you took so long?" Lucy asked.

She placed a finger on her lips. She winked then said, "It's. Our. Little. Secret." Natsu blushed again,this time you can see the steam in his face.

Gray was sitting far away from the couple,slightly jealous that Natsu one-upped him in relationship status. Damn him! Why did he get to have a lover first? He was furious but it instantly subsided when he saw how happy they were. As long as they were happy,right? For his _nakama_,he wouldn't go all jealous and rage out.

They finished their meal and went to sleep. Happy would usually just sit on Natsu's head then drift to sleep,but he didn't want to bother them. Natsu had his back against a tree,with only a pillow for support. Beside him was Lina,snuggled up on him and was sleeping. When he got comfortable,Natsu fell fast asleep,too. So this time, Happy was with Lucy. He rested on the center,outside the sleeping bag. Lucy didn't mind. In fact,he made her feel warmer. Erza was still up,keeping guard out for any passersby. Gray was on a thick tree branch and was looking at the moon. He was staring intently on the center. When his vision zoomed in,he saw two figures that resemble people,floating up in the air. Gray quickly fell back and alerted Erza.

"Hey Erza," he panted. "I think someone's been watching us." He pointed towards the direction of the moon. Erza's eyes widened when she saw that Gray was right.

"Everyone,wake up!" she yelled. In an instant everyone was awake,startled to hear the scarlet mage yell. She explained to them what was happening. Lina took her bag. It was moving again. And ocassional muffled sounds of her name were heard. She unzipped her bag and Puggo popped his head.

"Lina!" he gasped. "They're here! They're here!" Lina dropped the bag and began shaking. Natsu held her close to comfort her.

"Who's here?" he asked.

The pig climed out of the bag and waved his hands frantically. "It's the twins! Glaciem and Aqua!" With the mention of their names,they heard an explosion that came from the river. They looked over to see a cloud of smoke. Everyone prepared for battle. Lina just kept shaking and nervously put her hands in front of her chest. Natsu held her hand. The warmth calmed her down a bit,but enough that she can stand still.

When the smoked cleared,two menacing figures appeared. The moonlight shone on their pale skin. There was a man who was abnormally muscular with dark blue hair and threatening sapphire eyes. To his left was a woman who was as thin as a tree. She had blue and white hair hiding her sapphire eyes. Lina almost immediately charged towards them,though her shoulders were kept firm by Natsu.

"Tell me," Natsu whispered. "Is that huge guy the one? He can turn water to ice?" Lina nodded slowly. His hand on her shoulder tightened a bit.

"So he's the one. The one who hurt you. And they're the ones who killed your parents,right?" Natsu said as he shielded Lina from view.

"You. Big and Ugly," Natsu called out. "You killed Lina's parents,tried to kill her,too and now your here. What do you want?" he growled.

"A fellow Dragon Slayer,sister." the man said. The woman nodded fast and approached slowly. She stopped at the riverbank.

"Fellow Dragon Slayer," she said. "We mean you no harm. We only seek the girl that you are hiding from us." He clenched his fist.

"Why do you want her?" he snarled. The woman blinked a few times. Then she laughed.

"W-what's so funny?" Natsu asked,rather irritated than angry now.

The woman stopped and held her hand up to her face. "Forgive my rudeness,Dragon Slayer. But she must have told you of her ability to track Dragons,right? Aren't you going to find out where your dragon parent is?"

"So what?" Lucy butted in. "We couldn't care less about that ability! She's our friend,and we're not gonna let you have her!"

She got a glare from her. "Silence,you wench. This is talk for only Dragon Slayers. Whip of the Water Dragon!" she lashed a horizontal line that sped toward Lucy. Lucy flinched,but Erza's sword got to her just in time and blocked the attack.

"I think we've seen and heard enough to know that you are a threat." Erza said calmly. "Why would we give our friend to people whom we know she'd gotten hurt trying to escape them?"

"Your gonna have to go through us if you want her." Gray taunted.

The woman sighed. "We intended to leave without fighting,but if you wish to interfere,it will cost you your life! Glaciem,attack!" she ordered. The large man charged in and formed a claw of ice on his arm.

"Claw of the Water Dragon!" he roared. Natsu lift his arm and lit in of fire to block the attack. Gray slid between them and shifted his hands to form an atack.

"Ice Make:Lance!" a barrage of lances charged towards the enemy. They only managed to hit him a little,seeing the bleeding on his head and in his side.

"Erza! Lucy! You handle the water witch. We'll take care of this lug." Gray said. Erza and Lucy turned to the woman who was already casting a spell.

"Storm of the Water Dragon!" she casted. A big wave came crashing towards the women. Lucy held one of her Gold Keys.

"Gate of the Water Bearer,I open thee! Aquarius!" she said as she drenched the key in water. In a flash of light,the water dispersed and there appeared a mermaid with blue hair and blue eyes.

"Aquarius. We need your help. She's a Water Dragon Slayer. She can control water. We need you to fight with her." Lucy pleaded.

"Tch,I know that already," Aquarius sneered. "The water feels strange. And your right,she's controlling it. We need to get her out of the water!"

"Leave that to me." Erza said. "Requip!" Light covered her entire body. When the light faded,Erza was wearing her Lightning Queen Armor.

"Hyyyaaahhhh!" she yelled as she released lightning from the spear and ran towards the woman. The blue and white haired woman lost her balance and flew to the ground.

"Now Aquarius!" Lucy cried.

"Haaaaaahhhhh!" Aquarius screamed as she tossed the water towards the enemy. The woman dusted herself and spread her arms,happily taking the Water Bearer's attack. She was sure to drown,until they heard a sucking sound. She was drinking all the water!

With one gulp,she drank the water then flipped her hair. "Have you forgotten who I am? I am Aqua,the Water Dragon Slayer!" she roared as she engulfed them in water again. Lucy withdrew Aquarius,since she can eat water her attacks would be useless. She was carried away by Erza and they landed on a tree.

"Lucy,attack her from this distance. Outside her range of vision." Erza whispered. She then charged at her again,piercing the spear through the ground were she stood but dodged.

Lucy got her footing and pulled out another Gold Key. "Gate of the Archer,I open thee,Sagittarius!" with a flash of light, a man in a horse suit appeared and saluted her.

"Moshi-mosh~! What is it you ask me to do,Miss Lucy?" asked the horse-man.

"I need you to shoot her down." Lucy said,pointing to the woman whom Erza is fighting.

"As you wish,moshi-mosh~," replied Sagittarius. He aimed directly at the woman's neck and chest. The woman was surprised and almost couldn't dodge,but it cost her a lethal damage she recieves from Erza. She flew back and hit a nearby tree. There was a loud,cracking sound,probably her bones,as she coughed up blood. She tried to stand but instantly felt dizzy.

The men were having a harder time with their enemy.

"Roar of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu roared,unleashing a spray of fire from his mouth.

"Storm of the Water Dragon!" he roared back. He sprayed water-transformed Ice from his mouth. The two seemed equally matched,but Natsu was already giving out.

"Hang in there,Natsu!" Gray said. "Ice Make:Floor!" the entire area beneath the enemy turned into an ice floor. The enemy slipped and his attack misfires,sending it over to where Lina was standing. Natsu's eyes widened as he couldn't react fast enough to stop it. She got hit in her side and flew to the direction where Natsu was. He caught her quickly,fearing that she was hurt worse.

"You idiot!" Natsu roared. Gray was shocked to hear him like that. Pure rage echoed in his voice. He was about to protest when he barely dodged an attack from Glaciem.

"I'll deal with you,later." he whispered. "Ice Make:Hammer!" He materialized an ice hammer from the top of the man's head and slammed him down hard. Gray was about to use another attack when he saw Natsu charge at the enemy while standing up.

He pushed him back. He roared,"Roar of the Fire Dragon!" The flames spread to the man's body and watched him run to the river. When Glaciem recovered,he saw his sister,bleeding. She was kneeling on the ground in front of Erza,who hasn't got a scratch on her. She was going to cast another spell but instead,vomitted blood. She cursed under her breath.

"Say goodbye,Water Dragon Slayer." Erza said coldly.

"Sister!" Glaciem yelled. He charged toward Erza who barely dodged his icy claw. He grabbed his sister by the waist and carried her.

He reached his palm upwards and yelled, "Rain of the Water Dragon!" A big ball of water jumped out of his hand. It stopped at the center of the clearing,and exploded into little sharp rocks of ice. Erza requipped to her Adamtine Armor. Sagittarius shot down the ones who were going in Lucy's direction. Gray and Natsu rushed over to Lina. Gray formed an ice shield to block out the attack. Unfortunately some got through and cut Lina some more. There were scratches near hear big wounds. After the hell rain,the clearing that they were fighting on was now a total ice wasteland.

Glaciem gave them a smirk and said, "Now you have bigger problems to deal with. Until we meet again,Dragon Slayer. And you too, Tracker." he said as they ran off. Erza was going to follow them if she hadn't notice Lina's struggle.

Lina was barely standing because of the pain. There were gashes on her side and on her arm,and ice started to form on it because of the scratches. She flailed and shrieked because of the cold and pain. Natsu tried to melt the ice,but it kept re-growing. And if he got to high,the temperature might burn her skin. He was too afraid to hurt her. Then he felt her becoming limp. She tried to stand up again,but she quickly fell back,probably from the pressure of the attack. She was half-conscious when she heard Natsu calling her.

"Lina! Hang in there,please! Please I beg you. Lina..." he kept on saying. Lina's hearing was getting muffled,and last she saw his lips moving,pronouncing her name. Natsu's face tensed as he tried to hold back his tears. The ice already covered the wound,but it's still bleeding. And the ice won't stop spreading to her entire body. Her skin was getting colder,and getting paler.

The others were trying to apply pressure onto the wound to stop the bleeding,but couldn't since it was covered by ice. They were sitting there helpless until they heard someone call her name. It was Puggo.

He was running towards them and he almost tripped. When he got there,Lucy and even Natsu were crying.

"She's gonna be fine." Puggo assured them and walked towards the unconscious body. He placed his hand on the wounds and breathed deep. With a scream,light emmited from his hand and flowed into the wounds. The ice around it cracked and didn't grow back. The wounds stopped bleeding,too. They were all amazed at his ability.

"Heh,I'm her Guardian,I'm supposed to know all this."he said. "You should still apply pressure on the wounds since my spell wouldn't last for long. And the ice is only cracked to her wounds. The ice in her body will keep growing if no one warms her up." he warned,then finally collapsed from exhaustion. Happy carried him and put him in Lina's pack. Now they have a race against time. Will they be able to save her before her body completely freezes and dies? Or will fate be a cruel mistress? Natsu lifted Lina by the waist,trying not to hit the wounds,and carried her. Lucy wrapped her wounds with a bandage she had. He was too afraid that he'd hurt her that he didn't listen to Puggo to warm her up.

"Natsu," Gray called. "You need to heat her up,even just if it's a little. She needs to survive this so we can cure her!"

"Shut up!" Natsu growled. "It was your fault she got hit by that attack. If you did something else,this wouldn't have to happen to her!"

"My fault?" Gray sneered. "Just because you don't have the ability to protect your girlfriend doesn't mean you should blame me. You were fast enough to catch that attack,but you didn't move. Don't be such a baby and take responsibility like a man!"

"What was that?" he glared. They were about to fight when Lina whimpered.

"Lina,are you alright?" Natsu asked,happy to see she was awake.

She heard a mumble from her. "Na...su...fire...ice wou..." she whispered before passing out again. Natsu could make out the words but too afraid to hurt her.

"You heard her,Natsu." Erza said. "She has complete trust in you. She wouldn't be much of a lover if she doesn't have full trust in you."

Natsu knew that. Still,his thoughts came interrupting him again. What if he makes it worse? What if she screams in pain?

"Natsu," Lucy sighed. "It's not like you to get caught up with your thoughts. Just do what she asks." Swallowing his doubt,he set his hand on fire. Lina's face only twitched to show them that it hurt a little. So Natsu kept that fire under control.

They all followed Happy and lead them to a city. They all went to the station and rode the train to Magnolia. Natsu couldn't care less about his motion sickness. His world was already spinning out of control. He had to get her better and quick. Once they got out off the train,he tried to run to the guild,but his nausea caught up to him and he felt dizzy. His hand wandered off the ice and accidentally grazed her leg. Her face tensed as she felt the heat burning her skin. He found his footing again and dashed off to the guild.

When they got there,Natsu hurried to the infirmary. Lucy told them what happened and asked a few fire mages to come with them. Macao and Levy went with her to the infirmary. There,they so Natsu standing beside the bed he placed her in. She was so pale and cold,you'd probably mistake her for being dead if not the fact that she still breathing. Macao tapped him on the shoulder to assure him she's gonna be fine. Reedus was already ordered by the Master to fetch Porlyusica. Maybe she would know a way to reverse this.

Wendy was on the verge of healing her wounds. She looked over to Natsu,whose eyes that held rage now held sadness and hopelessness.

"She wouldn't give up this easily,Natsu." Wendy assured him. He nodded in response. "She still wants to see you. So don't blame yourself for all of this." Then she wiped her forehead. "Finally." she sighed. "The most serious wound,mainly at her side and a few on her arms,are healed. You can rest easy now."

Natsu dropped his eyes in relief. But his sadness didn't waver when he saw Macao and Levy struggle to keep the ice under control. He looked over to Lina. he stared at her eyes,hoping that she would wake up. His eyes widened when he saw her brows twitch. She was starting to wake up!

Natsu held her hand and kissed it. And as if by instinct,pulled her closer to him. Lina opened her emerald eyes and saw Natsu bare chest. She placed her good hand on his chest and he looked at her. Her eyes were filled with happiness and relief that Natsu was safe.

"Lina,I'm so sorry!" he began. "I couldn't protect you from them. Despite what I said,I...I..." Natsu shut his eyes,attempting to seal of his tears. Then he felt her hand carress his cheek. His eyes opened and the tears came flooding in. She smiled at Natsu.

"You kept your promise,Natsu. You protected me from them. And I owe you my life for saving me." She looked over to the mages keeping the ice stable and Wendy who was healing her. "Everyone,thank you." They all smiled back at her. Lina patted Wendy's head,telling her to stop. She struggled lifting her other arm to her chest. With one deep breath,she levitated and light engulfed her body again. When the light faded, she was good as new.

"See? Good as-" she couldn't finish as her eyes widened,then sealed shut as there was pain in her sides. She cringed and held her side. It felt cold. And when she looked at it,the ice was still creeping and clinging to her. She tried to block out her screams,but the pain was too intense.

Just then,Prolyusica busted through the door. Will she have the cure for this parasitic ice?

* * *

_Was the development too fast? Was the plot too thin? Will we ever find out there little secret? So many questions._

_I need reviews here,people! And if you want to find out Natsu and Lina's secret,look forward to my upcoming story,entitled "River Bathing". It's gonna be fun!_

_I updated this chapter to fix some minor errors. LOL_

_Reviews are awaiting! ^_^ But be nice... Nice enough that your words won't hurt,but harsh enough to point out mistakes._

_There are still other chapters coming,okay? XD_


	6. The Hunt Begins

**Chapter 6:**

**The Hunt Begins**

Porlyusica busted through the door.

"Everyone get out!" she yelled. Everyone except Natsu and Wendy were left. She pulled her bag that contains potions and remedies.

"From what I heard,the ice was created by a Dragon Slayer,correct?" she asked sternly. Natsu nodded. "I see." she pulled a chunk of ice and placed in in a vile. "Fire brat,light this on fire,will you?"

Natsu lit the vile on fire. Much to there amazement,the ice didn't melt completely. A small spec was left and it regrew instantly.

"As I thought." Porlyusica said. "The ice reacts to Dragon Slayer Magic. Stop what you are doing and back away." she ordered. The two felt their heart sunk when it dawned on them that they were the ones hurting her even more. They exchanged looks of grief and sadness then quietly left the room. The last thing Natsu and Wendy heard were the sounds of Lina screaming Natsu's name,begging him to come back.

Natsu's face tensed up when he was forced by Wendy to ignore her cries and wait for Porlyusica to heal her. When they got out,Lucy and the others were also worried about her.

"How is she?" the blonde mage asked him. Natsu was silent the whole time,keeping a sharp glare in his eyes. Wendy answered the question for him.

"Porlyusica said that Dragon Slayer Magic was making things worse,and that she has to kick us out to stop the ice from growing back." she said then pouted.

"I see..." Lucy sighed. "I guess we have no choice but to wait and pray for her safety."

It seemed like forever when Porlyusica was left alone with her. Everybody thought that she would be done by now. It was almost midnight when she got out. They were relieved,but that relief turns into shock when they saw her face. She was scared.

" She's now sleeping. So no one make any noise." she began. Now her voice was sounding shaky. "I-I'm sorry. I tried my best to stop the ice and take it out of her system,but it somehow took root in her body. They are now connected. If I take it off,she will most likely die. I made a potion that stopped the ice temporarily,but it's effect only lasts for two weeks." Everyone was shocked. Natsu's fists lit on fire.

"I'm going to kill that lug head!" he roared. They were about to stop him when they heard a loud gasp coming from inside the infirmary. When they got inside,they saw Lina lying on the bed,fully awake and heard everything Porlyusica said.

"So," she said. "I have two choices. That is to let the ice slowly freeze and kill me,or take it off in exchange for my life?..." Everyone tried to protest,but she was right. Those were the only choices that she had. But much to their suprise,she smiled at them.

"That would've been my only choices," she chuckled. "If Suiro didn't come and help me." Natsu's eyes widened when he learns that she has hope of recovering.

"What do you mean?" Porlyusica asked,stunned. She gave her a happy smile.

"I forgot that damn Dragon also has telephatic ability. It's very strong and rambly,but I heard him..."

_**:Dream:**_

_It's so dark in here. Natsu! Wendy! Anyone!" she cried out. "It's so cold. I wonder where I am?" she asked then a bright light shot across her face. When the brilliance faded,she saw a river that was as deep as an ocean. The trees around it glowed with yellow brilliance._

_"I know this place..." she said in amazement._

_"Yes you do. This is your favorite place in the world,is it not?" she was shocked to hear someone. A strong gust of cold wind passed through her. She looked into the lake and saw a giant snake-like monster swim through the water. It's black figure slowly turned into dark blue when it rose out of the water. It has large and long fangs growing from it's mouth. It's nose and muzzle were long. It had green pupils and black slits for eyes. It floated to the sky and and she saw it's hands and legs,ending up in long claws. It's tail was shaped like a fin for swimming._

_Lina's eyes widened when she saw her long lost friend. "Well I'll be damned." she chuckled. "You really had to hide in the most obvious place in the world? Huh,Suiro?"_

_The Water Dragon laughed deeply and said, "It was the most obvious,but no one ever suspected it."_

_Lina sighed. "True..." she looked around and slowly,the memory returned to her. "The Lake of Dragon's Soul,also known as the Lake of Immortal Souls."_

_"Honestly,Suiro. Your kids keep giving me a hard time." she laughed then sadness took over as she replays the memories through her mind._

_"I know of it all. I've been keeping track. I'm sorry for your loss. Linnol and Natalie were a blessing for us Dragons. Without them,we would've been extinct a long time ago." he huffed. "My children,they were truly gifted. Able to master their skills in a short span of time. But their minds are corrupted now..."_

_"In the hopes of finding you." Lina finished. She looked even sadder now,remembering her situation. Suiro read this and he laughed._

_"Those brats. They put an ice curse on you? Was it Glaciem who did that?" Lina nodded. Suiro laughed. "I told them that was too easy to break. Hurry and come to me Lina. I can take that off your hands."_

_"R-really?" she asked in excitement. The Dragon nodded his head and looked to the sky._

_"I can. But you need to find me. And you have to hurry,those two are zoning in on me."_

_"The Lake of Dragon's Soul,huh? Well,this should be easy enough." she chuckled._

_"You should take the three Dragon Slayers with you." he suggested. "They cannot be affected by the ice curse so it's best for you to take them."_

_She laughed and said, "I guess. Though I don't think there'll be a lake left by the time they're finish there."_

_The Dragon laughed with her. "Good luck to you,daughter of Linnol and Natalie. You are truly a blessing given to us by the Gods." with that,Suiro vanished into the deep and everything went black._

_"I guess I have to wake up now." she sighed. "I missed him. But I miss Natsu,too."_

_**:End of Dream:**_

"So where is this 'Lake of Dragon's Soul'?" Lucy asked.

"Well it's a little bit farhter from where I lived back in the East. If we travel there now,we should be there in less than a week." she said confidently.

Natsu grinned and held her hand. "Then we better get going now. Don't want to make that Dragon wait now,do you?"

She chuckled and said, "Yeah. I guess your right." The others were about to join them when Porlyusica tapped Lina on the shoulder.

"You should take this with you." she said,handing her a potion in a small vile. "In any event that the ice starts to form again,drink this and you'd be able to hold it off a little longer."

She took the potion and held her hand. "Thank you. I appreciate your help." she gave her a sweet smile.

Porlyusica turned around and headed for the exit crowded with Fairy Tail members.

"Out of my way,stinky Humans!" she yelled,causing everyone to form a straight line and salute. "Pathetic." she grunted then left.

"So it's Lake of Dragon's Soul,is it?" Erza asked. Lina gave a solemn nod. "I will be going with you to help you out. And to keep Natsu's hormones under control." she pointed at Natsu who was already sniffing her hair and her neck. She laughed and leaned his head closer to hers. He breathed in deeply to inhale her scent.

"Don't count me out!" Lucy said. "I'm going with you 'cuz your my friend." Lina smiled and nodded. Wendy tugged in her sleeve.

"I would like to come with you." she said shyly. "Maybe Suiro knows where Grandine is."

"Maybe... But nothing's certain til we get to him." Lina responded.

"Erza,we should take Gajeel with us." Happy suggested. She hummed a bit,thinking of the best answer. Then she nodded and looked at Gajeel,who was already sneaking away until he was grabbed by the Armor Queen.

"Your going to help us guard Lina so she won't suffer the same fate with our last battle. And besides, the Dragon asked to bring you along,too."

"I'm not going so forget it." Gajeel shrugged her off and was about to leave when he heard Natsu laughing.

"Your just scared because water can rust metal!" he accused,still laughing. But it didn't last long when an iron pole hit him in the face.

"You think I'm scared of a little rain you piece of crap!" he yelled,looking more determined now. "I'll show you. Alright,I'm in!"

"Well come on. We don't have any time to lose." says Gray. Natsu glared at him and was growling low.

"No you don't! You are not coming with us!" he roared. "You might do something to hurt Lina again!"

Gray just smirked. "Unless your unsure that you can protect her,don't go blaming me again!" Then he saw Lina's eyes with sadness at how the two are fighting because of her. "S-sorry,Lina."

"It's not your fault. That attack could've misfired anywhere. And I didn't want to cause the team any trouble while your fighting,so I redirected it to myself."

Everyone gasped,but Natsu was shocked the most. "You...what?"

"I used my telekenisis ability to redirect the flow of Glaciem's attack towards me,because I saw it was going to fire at Lucy." she said. Then lowered her head. "I'm sorry for causing you all this much trouble. I just don't want to see my friends getting hurt." She started to cry,then she felt a warm,calloused hand on her waist and pulled her in for a tight hug.

"Don't do that again!" Natsu shouted into her ear,making her lean her head away from him.

"Natsu..." she whispered. She saw how much he had suffered and the least she could do was to comfort him now. She held his cheek and kissed him.

"Don't ever...do that again!" he dropped to his knees,dragging her along with him. "You could've died. And I couldn't do anything about it."

"Natsu," she began. "You know I won't promise to that as long as friends are in trouble. I'm strong too,you know. Or are you just keeping me as decoration,like other animals do with their mates."

Natsu's eyes widened and he heard her say those words. He punched the ground near her,making her yelp in surprise. "Don't compare me to those filthy animals on the street!" he growled. "Your special to me,you understand? I'll let no one,not even you,to think your just a decoration! I'll kill them if they think lowly of you. Your my mate and my friend,and I'll accept any punishment I get from making you think like that! I'll even kill myself if I let you think like that..." then came a slap from Lina,who was now crying.

"Now you listen to me,Salamander. I regret ever spitting out those words to you. You deserve better. But talking about killing yourself because I thought I was lowly?" she started to hiccup. " Natsu,your better than that! You could force me out of that situation and I won't be angry with you. You are the first Dragon Slayer I trusted when I entered this guild. You are the first man who came into my life. You are the very first,and my only lover. I love you,Natsu! So don't ever think of leaving me alone. Never."

He leaned in closer,leaning her head on his shoulders. Then Gray leaned over and started talking.

"You really are perfect for each other. Both of you are suicidal." then came the instant slap-punch combo,times 2! Gray's face was bloated in an instant. Everyone started to laugh.

"See?" Lucy told them. "No matter what descisions you make in your life,there will always be consinquences. But you have us,your _nakama_,and you have each other,to help out in times of need,all here to make you smile." she said as she smiled.

The two of them got up,each not letting the other go. "Now,it's time to hunt our Dragon..."

* * *

**Infighting was so hard to do! *sighs deeply* I hope you guys review! ^_^**

**More Chapters coming up!**


	7. Under the Sakura

_"The sakura tree looms sadness_

_over the fields of green"_

_-NewMusic098_

**Chapter 7:**

**Under the Sakura**

It's been 3 days since the group left to find the Water Dragon Suiro. The group rode the train for three days straight in the hopes of reaching the lake quicker. Much to Wendy's delight,she didn't have to use Troia to cure Natsu's motion-sickness because he was too focused on Lina. He can even start to eat meals in the dining car,which meant massive financial losses to them. Though every once in a while,he just sits at the edge of the window,with Lina cuddled beside him. Still,they were happy that his special relationship with her is beneficial,not the other way around. Every night they would share the same bed,or rather Natsu would sneak up to her bed when she sleeps because he finds it too hard not to smell her and see her every night.

Finally,they reached a small village in the East. They got of the train and set their sight at the town.

"Oh,Lina." said the old man. "Welcome back. It's been years since we last saw you here."

"Yes,it's been a while hasn't it?" the old woman beside him said.

"I know. I'm sorry for making you worry. But I'm fine,now. Let me introduce to you my friends." Lina said. "Guys,these two are Sir Corol and Granny Keyla. Sir Corol is the Chief of this town. I use to come here because they were like grandparents to me."

"Nice to meet you,sir. My name is Erza Scarlet." Erza said with a serious look.

"My name's Lucy." she said.

"And my name's Wendy,sir. Nice to meet you." she said with a smile.

"My,what beautiful friends you have,Lina. It's no wonder you became so beautiful yourself." All four of them blushed at the same time. The two guys just laughed and Gajeel just snorted.

"My name's Gray. It's a pleasure to meet you." he said. Granny Keyla eyed him suspiciously and let out a sigh.

"Lina,are men's fashion today commonly involves being half-naked?" she asked looking at Gray. He immediately blushed and looked for his clothes,praying that it's not in the train.

"The name's Natsu." said the fire Dragon Slayer. "Nice to meet you,granny." he said in a goofy grin.

"Oh,this one's half-naked,too. But at least he has some covers on,unlike that other one." she said innocently. Natsu just laughed for the silly behaviour the old folks there were showing.

"Gajeel,introduce yourself." Lina insisted. He just shrugged her and continued to walk away. But stayed when he felt daggers from Erza's glare.

"I'm Gajeel." he said irritatably. "There,you happy now?" Lina smiled and nodded.

"Why don't we give your friends a tour at our town and let you stay for the night?" Granny suggested.

Lina smiled. "That's a great idea. You guys up for it?" Everyone nodded. So they toured the town,ate at a restaurant there with very delicious food,and found some intresting souvenirs like clothes and jewelry. Gray couldn't find his clothes so he wore a common attire. Mainly a blue shirt and baggy shorts. Lucy bought some earrings that'll look cute with a dress she had back home. Later,they were at the house,Lina told the elderly why she doesn't go there anymore.

"Oh my,that's horrible." Granny Keyla said. Sir Corol nodded his head sadly. He couldn't believe that they weren't able to do something for her.

"Um...Lina," he said. Lina turned around when she was currently begging Natsu to be quiet about their "secret". "You and that pink-haired man,you guys are,lovers?" he asked directly. Lina and Natsu were shocked that they figured it out so quickly.

"Judging from your faces,I guess I was right." he teased. Lina laughed nervously and Natsu continued to keep quiet about their "secret".

"I knew it." Granny Keyla said. "You and that boy had never left each other's company during the whole tour. And now you two are sitting together. Isn't that nice dear? That goes to show you that Lina can bag a dragon of a man with her~."

Natsu,who was drinking water,spurt the water out in shock. How did they know about him being a Dragon Slayer.

"I can see that your surprised." the old man nodded. "But like little Lina here,we too,have the ability to track down dragons."

"I guess the prophecy came true after all." the grandma said,a little sad.

"The prophecy?" Lina asked,curious to what it is. The old lady nodded and walked to a desk. She then pulled out a scroll with ancient writing in it.

"This scroll was give to us as both a blessing and a warning. It says that '_The princess of the village will fall for a Dragon and will live in harmony and happiness for all their days. But for this to come true,the sacrifice of what she truly loves most before the Dragon must be made.'"_

"Wait,so Lina's a princess?" Everyone asked in shock. The old folks nodded.

"Princess Lina Sakurano of the third Generation of the Sakurano Clan. She would be the chieftain if she does not a husband at the age of 30." the old man said.

"Still,that doesn't excuse that prophecy!" Lina began shaking. Natsu held her for comfort and an attempt to calm her down. "Why? Why did I risk the lives of my parents for the love of my life?" she began crying. "It doesn't make sense. Can't I enjoy my being with Natsu,without the thought that THAT was the reason my parents died? Stupid Prophecy..."

"I think your parents know about this,Lina." Granny said in concern. "They didn't want to tell you because they knew you'd react this way. They already accepted the fact that they can't see their future son-in-law." This made Natsu blush. Lina stood up and walked to one of the guest rooms. Natsu sat there for a moment,but given the approval to enter the girl's room from Sir Corol,he quickly dashed to her.

"Young love..." the old man sighed. The old woman smiled and nodded.

The group let them be since they know what would come next. It's either a fight or ferocious sex. Probably both. So it's best to just leave them alone.

When Natsu opened the door,he saw Lina by the window,holding her head with her hand as she laid down the window sill,while stroking her brown hair. Moonlight was the only light inside. Just like the first time.

"...Lina..." said the concerned Natsu. "What's wrong?"

Lina turned to him,her eyes still wet from crying. She whimpered and her face tensed. She started crying again and ran into Natsu's arms. She slammed him hard that it shut the door. She didn't want to let go,but she had to because of the akward position.

"Lina," he began. "I know what it feels like to be abandoned and I-" he was cut off when Lina pressed her lips against his.

"Don't give me that,Natsu." she sighed. "I will always love you,no matter what that stupid prophecy says. Your my one and only. That will never change."

He caressed her cheek and kissed her again,this time with more passion. After a few minutes of non-stop kissing,a knock was heard from the door. They arranged themselves and Lina opened the door. It was Sir Corol.

"Sorry for interrupting," he smiled. "But the wife wanted me to give this to you. When we found Linnol and Natalie's bodies,we buried them in the most beautiful spot in town. And they asked us to give the letter to you when they die. I think your'e ready for this now." he gave her a brown enevelope with pretty crystals and gems. She opened it and it contained a letter.

She read it out loud:

_To our dearest daughter,_

_When you are reading this,we are probably dead right now,or that old geezer is playing tricks on you._

_Anyway,when you find out about the prophecy we knew you'd freak out. So it was best when we kept quiet until now._

_We hope your not mad at us for leaving you at a very important phase of your life._

_The dragon boy you fell in love with was Igneel's right? You did always keep an eye out for him._

_Took special care for him. And didn't he say that he will find a way to repay you?_

_I guess he was talking about giving you his son!_

_If he starts to trouble you,tell us at once and we'll come down from heaven to kick his ass!_

_Anyway,if you go to the Sakura Mountain here in the village,you'll see our graves there._

_We also have a surprise for you there. When you get there,sing the song we always sang as a family._

_You remember, "Dragon Wish",right?_

_That always helps the Dragons go to sleep,right?_

_That is a very important song to us and to you. We hope you get there soon._

_Love with all our heart and soul,_

_.Linnol and Natalie Sakurano._

Lina dropped the letter as she started to cry. When Natsu read it,he burst into laughter when he saw the part about Igneel giving her his son.

"I guess everything worked out for the best,huh?" Natsu said as he wrapped Lina in his arm and leaned her closer. "Let's go to the Sakura Mountain."

Lina looked at him with tears in her eyes. She hugged him tight. "I can't move. Carry me?"

"Your a sly one aren't you?" Natsu smirked. So he carried her and they jumped off the window and landed on a tree branch. "Where is this mountain located?"

"It's a little bit to the North. We should be there in-whoa! Slow down!" she said as Natsu jumped from tree to tree,heading toward the direction she pointed. A little later they got there. The place was beautiful. The sakura blossoms never wilt or shed. It was an endless rain of Sakura petals. Natsu put Lina down gently,then they walked to the one tree standing alone. Sure enough,they found her parent's graves there.

She stood at the center and sang the song:

_Dragon Wish_

_Ā, kyodaina doragon ga watashi no negai o fuyo_

_Ten kara watashi no koe o kiku_

_Watashi o nagusameru tame ni anata no ude de tōtatsu_

_Watashi no chīsana doragon ga kibō o kiku_

She cried after singing this song. A little while the tree that stood alone magically opens. The stored magic of her parents opened it. Inside she found a box. When she opened it,a recording lacrima was stored along with a necklace the looked like a rose with sakura petals. She applied a bit of magic power to see the recording. It was her parents.

_"Lina," said Linnol, "I wish I could've seen you grow up into the fine young woman we think you now are."_

_"Yes," Natalie sighed, "We wanted to see you grow up fast. But I guess we didn't have to wait long for you to find your lover."_

_"Put the necklace on him. It is the crest of our family. If he is a son of a Dragon,h__e will know how to use it when the time comes."_

_"Lina,we wish you the best from wherever we are right now. And..." they showed at the video together. "...We Love You... Be safe and take care."_

_with that the video finished and disappeared._

Lina was sobbing even more. Still,she put the necklace on Natsu. She hugged him tight and cried again. He made her look up and kissed her lightly. Outside the mountain,the group,along with the elderly,were watching the video,too.

"T-that was s-so touching!" Happy wailed. Charles just sighed but agreed.

"I didn't know you can sing?" Natsu asked. "You have to teach that to me so we can sing it with our child."

"Our...our child?" Lina looked shocked. Natsu got depressed.

"What's wrong? Do you not want to have kids with me?" he asked. Lina just giggled.

"It's not that. Can we just enjoy the moment for now? Then we can think about having ONE kid." she giggled again.

"One? That's boring!" he whined. "I wanted at least 30 kids by the time I'm 25." he pouted.

"What? 30? Are you trying to kill me?" Lina yelled. She chased Natsu around the Sakura tree. Then in the distance,they heard laughing and looked to see their friends,overhearing their short conversation.

"Natsu," Gray called out. "It's bad enough that I know that your gonna have a brat. But to have 30 of them? There's only so many Natsus we can take,you know?"

"Don't forget that they might have Lina's telekenesis ability." Lucy added. Everyone laughed.

"I don't think there's gonna be a guild left when that happens." Erza feared. Everyone laughed again. Even Natsu and Lina laughed with their friends conflicting yet true facts.

"Mother,Father," Lina thought. "I promise I'm gonna make you proud. Wherever you are."

After that they all decided to stay a bit late to watch the Sakura trees.

* * *

Aww, how sweet? Review people! To get the translation for the song just go to my profile... XD

Who knew Natsu wanted to have that many kids? haha Any who,more chapters coming your way!


	8. The Forest of Fire

_"Fire dances wildly;_

_Passion fills the air"_

_-NewMusic098_

**Chapter 8:**

**The Forest of Fire**

It had rougly been a week since the group has travelled. They were now close to their goal; The Lake of Dragon's Soul. They all packed their bags and said good bye to Sir Corol and Granny Keyla.

"Be safe,everyone!" the old woman yelled. Lina turned around and waved her hand.

"We will! Thank you for everything." when she turned back,everyone was smiling at the direction of the old folks. They were happy that they became quick friends with them.

They went straight ahead and passed a hill. Lucy nearly tripped and slipped on a rock,but Lina caught her just in time. Though both were still slipping,and down below was a pile of pointy rocks. Lina grabbed hold of a branch af a near tree.

"Lina,don't let go!" Lucy pleaded.

"It's really hard to do when your moving like a lunatic!" Lina snapped. "Stop moving! The branch's gonna give out." They heard the branch snap and stared at it,horrified. Just as they were about to fall,a muscular hand grabbed her and pulled her with ease. Lucy got her footing back and saw who saved them. It was Natsu,who is now hugging Lina from behind.

"I knew you couldn't carry her." Natsu smirked. He received a slap to his face,instead of a kiss to thank him.

"You idiot!" Lina yelled. "We could've died! Why wait til the last second,huh? Was it to make fun of my weakness?" Natsu gripped her tighter and inhaled her scent. She can feel his hot breath in her skin.

He grinned and said, "I wanted to see the capabilities of my mate. There's no harm in that and as long as I saved you." He saw her depressed expression. "It's not like I'm checking if your good or not it's-"

"-basic Dragon instinct,I know." Lina finished. "Still,I can't help but feel..." she didn't say it because she knows what Natsu's reaction would be.

He held her hand and placed it on her stomach. "I'm sorry." Natsu whispered. "I'll try to stop it from now on." Lina quickly turned around and met sad onyx eyes and sorry emerald eyes.

"Don't change your nature,Natsu." she said. "It's what makes you a Dragon Slayer. I wouldn't mind if you give me some time to get used to it." she smiled and pulled him to meet with the group. They were waiting at the foot of the hill.

"Geez,took you long enough." Gray sighed. Happy flew near Natsu's face and was saying something rambly.

"Calm down,Happy." Natsu said. "Now,what is it you want to tell me?"

With one breath,he said, "Lucy told me that the next place going to is called the 'Forest of Fire'!"

"That's right. Inside the forest is the Lake of Dragon's Soul." Lina corrected. Natsu perked up and gave them his signature goofy grin.

"Alright! Let's go."

"Aye,sir!" Happy followed.

"I wonder what the forest would taste like?"

"Maybe it'll taste leafy... Ooh,I think they'll taste like trees!"

"Eww,Happy. I don't want to eat trees. That's gross."

"It's not real fire,you guys." Lina interrupted. Natsu frowned at that and began to walk lazily. The brunnette had to drag him all the way until they reached the forest entrance.

"Wow," Lucy said. "When I think of 'Forest of Fire',I think it'll be more...I don't know,lively?" Everyone sighed when they saw the forest. Unlike the Sakura Mountain,there were absolutely no trace of plant life there. The trees look like some were burnt to a crisp. The others just look dead.

"It's easy to find your way here,since there are no leaves blocking our way. I used to come here everyday to train. I didn't have to bother how deep I go,since all I have to do is go straight. And no matter where I am,I could always see the smoke from our chimney." she said pointing to that rising up ahead.

"Why is it called the 'Forest of Fire'?" Lucy asked.

Lina chuckled and explained. "Aside from the fact that it looks like it's been burning for the past millennia,at night,the trees let out a yellow brilliance here that resembles leaves. The light makes a make-shift forest that looks like it's on fire. It is said that the spirits of dragons in the lake are causing this,thus,naming the lake the 'Lake of Dragon's Soul'."

"We should hurry. Since we don't know this area,we're putting our trust in you,Lina." Erza pointed out. Lina nodded and ushered the rest to follow. They just head in a straight direction. Nobody questioned it,since they don't know the way. Finally,Natsu smelled water.

"I smell water." he said as he sniffed some more. "We're getting close."

"That's right~." Lina said as she bopped his nose. She was then pulled into a deep hug. Natsu was sniffing her and licking her neck. "Natsu,let go!" she groaned. But he wouldn't listen. Finally she broke out of the hug and did a high kick. Natsu blocked it easily and didn't let go.

"Is that the last of your protests,mate?" Natsu smirked. Lina let out a 'Tch' and did a back punch. Natsu would easily avoid it,but she had a plan. When Natsu grabbed her hand,she used the chance to balance herself on top of his head,then push him down with everything she's got.

"Learn how to heel,horny Dragon." she growled. Natsu struggled but eventually gave in,and let go of her hand and foot. "Now that that's settled,let's keep going." she said as she hummed a melody. Natsu slowly stood up. Lucy was going to give him words of encouragement,but she quickly silenced herself when she saw Natsu's eyes fixed on Lina,filled with lust and passion. It's like he's saying 'I want you' without talking.

"What was that?" Lucy asked. Wendy gave her a tug so she could explain.

"That was basic Dragon instinct,Lucy." she said. "I read in a book once that a male dragons tests the abilities of his mate to resist mating. And in return,the female dragon would forcefully attract the male dragon and entice his libido some more. It's basically a battle of the sexes."

Lucy sweatdropped when she heard her explained the situation. But Gajeel stepped in and explained further.

"That's not all." he said. "Natsu seems to be holding back on purpose. He's letting her take over for a while,increasing his lust. She doesn't seem to know it,but Natsu is a lot stronger than that,and when her guard is down..." his and Wendy's face became flushed with the color pink. The same thing happened to Lucy. They continued to walk,without ever mentioning the topic for a while. Natsu pounced on Lina again.

"Come on,babe. I know you want to..." he said in a seductive voice. Lina held his hand. He thought she was giving up,when the other hand took hold of his hand and she threw him in front of her. She gave him a sexy grin before taking the lead again.

Natsu rubbed his lower lip. He spit and saw some blood. He smirked and said, "Feisty,aren't 'ya?" He followed as usual. Lucy and the two Dragon Slayers are at the back.

"How long will that last,Wendy?" Lucy asked. "He better not pull out a knife and threaten her to have sex with him."

"Not a bad idea,Lucy. I think I'll use that." Lucy yelped as she realized that Natsu was listening to her. "But I don't want to hurt her. That's why I'm holding back." he smirked and left again.

"Great..." she sighed.

"Lucy," Wendy called. "the normal span for dragons to be like that is a week to a month. Maybe Lina knows that and that would explain her behaviour."

"That's right." she yelped again,realizing Lina was behind them.

"Why do you keep popping behind my back?" Lucy whined.

Lina laughed and said, "Because it's fun to surprise you. Oh and also,don't tell Natsu where I am,okay?" Lucy nodded. "Good." then she left.

"What a weird pair." Lucy mentions. They continued walking straight until it got dark.

"Lina,how much longer before we reach the lake?" she asked.

"It would probably be a few more hours since that's how long it took me the first ten times." she replied. "Now,could you help me down?" she pleaded as she was stuck to a tree. "Hurry before Natsu finds me."

"Too late..." she looked behind her and saw Natsu clinging to her. "I'm gonna have fun punishing you for your actions today,mate."

"Get off me,Natsu!" he didn't listen and he unclasped Lina's bra through her tank top,while at the same time,flipping a switch in her head. Her eyes grew with anger. "That's it! You forced me Natsu,but you won't sit and behave."

"Oh and what are you gonna do about it,mate?" he asked sarcastically and cupped one her breasts. Lina's emerald eyes glowed with blue light,then a little later,Natsu's body was glowing blue,too.

"What's happening?" he asked in confusion. Then,without a moment's notice,he got slammed to the tree a few feet apart from where Lina was. "That hurt!"

"Sorry Natsu,but you forced me." she said as she lifted herself up from the tree. "No means no! We're on a mission here! Can't you keep that other head of yours locked up in your pants?"

"But you smell so good." he whined. Lina's eyes glowed blue again,and forced Natsu to stop.

"Bad Natsu!" she scolded. Then the trees of the forest started to glow yellow. Seconds later the glow turned into light and stretched out into the form of leaves.

"Huh? So it's night time already." Lina said while reminiscing about the past relationship she had with the forest. "It's as beautiful as I remembered it."

"Your right!" Lucy exclaimed.

"It really looks like it's on fire." Wendy said in amazement.

Erza looked over a few distances from where they are and saw a reflection of the moon on a rippling surface. "Everyone,the lake is just a few more walks that way." she said.

"That's correct. We should be there in a few minutes now. Let's hurry,I can't wait to take this frozen leech off of me." she said as she told the others to follow,too distracted by the pretty lights to even listen to her. "Well I don't blame them. That's the first time I reacted when I saw this forest at night,too."

"They're like children." Natsu said behind her. Before she could react,he caged her with his arms and pinned her down to a tree. He then kissed her passionately. When he let go and opened his eyes,he saw Lina's eyes change from serious to gentle.

"Natsu..." she whispered. The Dragon Slayer leaned forward and wanted to hear her words of surrender. When his ears were near her mouth,she said, "I thought I told you to..." she grabbed hold of his arm and whipped him through the forest,smashing any tree that blocked him and finally threw him to the direction of the lake. "Behave... Everyone! Come on. We can look at the pretty lights together later when we finish out businness here."

By the lake,Natsu stood up and dusted himself. "She's really hard to get. But I will ravage her by the end of tonight!" he growled with determination.

Then from behind,he heard someone laughing. "I don't think so,little Dragneel. Your centuries away from winning a battle with that stubborn girl."

He turned around and his eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he saw...

* * *

Cliffhanger much? haha

**Natsu's so horny today! XD But maybe it's partly Lina's fault...**

**Lina:Hey! How could it be my fault?**

**Natsu:It is your fault,naughty mate. Now stand still and let me punish you!**

**Lina:Hey let go you sick(muffled sounds).**

**Me:(laughs nervously) I think it's time for you guys to get out. You still need to finish your mission.**

**N&L:(totally not listening to me and trashing my room.)**

**Me: *sigh* what am I gonna do with these two... Anyway more chapters to go! Enjoy...**

**Natsu:Me ravaging Lina's tight little... (gets hit in the face with a thick dictionary)**

**Lina:Stop talking! You horny dragon!**

**Me:Let's just hope I have a room left after this... -_-**


	9. A Dragon's Sorrow

_"Family reunites_

_And once again,torn apart."_

_-NewMusic098_

**Chapter 9:**

**A Dragon's Sorrow**

"A...Dra..." Natsu was stunned. He couldn't believe his eyes. He finally saw a Dragon. But it was not Igneel. It was the Dragon Suiro.

"I can see that your surprised." Suiro said. "Not to worry,I am here to help."

"Natsu!" everyone else called out. By the time they got there,Suiro was in full view. Everyone else except for Natsu and Lina were shocked,mostly happy,but shocked none the less.

"Long time no see,Lina." Suiro said. Lina smiled and gave him a nod. The Water Dragon laughed. "Look at you. My you've grown well. It's no wonder the child of Igneel wants you. He was always a loose cannon himself back then."

"Really?" Natsu asked in excitement. He was finally going to learn some parts of his foster father's past.

"Yes,yes. He would always go out and battle the poachers,instead of listening to Linnol and Natalie to stay hidden." The Water Dragon said in reminsce.

"He's kinda like you." Lucy pointed out. "Oh,yeah. Before we forget,you said to Lina that you can take the ice thingy off her,right?"

"Ah,of course. Lina,come." Lina went in front of the lake. Suiro engulfed her in water. He made it spin like a vortex. Then a few seconds later,it transformed into ice.

"It's effect of never-ending ice has ceased." he declared. "Now it's time for the core." He lifted his scaly claw and lightly touched Lina's stomach,making it glow light blue. When he removed his claw,a ball of ice was following it. A few feet after leaving Lina's body,the ice dispersed into little crystals.

"The curse has been lifted. You needn't worry about it anymore."

"Really? Thank you so much Suiro!" she exclaimed. She went over to her friends and told them about the curse being lifted. They were so happy that they all shouted in happiness. Natsu lifted Lina into the air and spun her around. Like what they do in movies.

But of course,all happiness comes with great sorrow. Puggo finally lets himself out of Lina's bag and alarmed everyone.

"Everyone! I sense them. They're coming,and fast!" Puggo feared,pointing at some trees. Everyone looked towards the directionn Puggo pointed at. They saw two shadows approaching the now well-lit forest.

"The twins..." Lina whispered. The Dragon merely narrowed his eyes and breathed deep. When the two Dragon Slayers got there,everyone was at their battle stance.

"We are not here to fight,you. Insolent brats." Aqua mentions. "We are here to reunite ourselves with our father."

"Father!" Glaciem cried out and ran towards Suiro. Suiro flicked his tail and sent Glaciem flying,leaving Aqua stunned.

"Why,Father?" Aqua asked in shock. The Water Dragon looked at her for a moment. Finally he spoke.

"You,the twins that I have bestowed my knowledge upon. You were trained to discipline your minds and souls to become Dragon Slayers." he said.

"Yes,that's right Father. We-" Aqua was about to explain when Suiro roared.

"I know what you did. In your obssession to find me,you murdered this child's parents,did you not?" he asked. Then he roared, "That is not the way I teached you! These other Dragon Slayers,children of Fire,Sky and Metal,they put you to shame from what I've seen. And I've seen it all. Everything."

"Your quest just involves finding your father,right?" Natsu asked. "We want to find our Dragons as well! But that doesn't mean you should murder other people!" he roared.

"That's right. Everyone has the right to find happiness,but taking the lives of others is simply unforgivable!" Wendy yelled.

"You finally succeeded in your quest,right? Then why won't you run into the arms of your old man?" Gajeel teased. "Unless of course he's revolted at the very sight of his children,who turned out to be a pair of rotting apples."

Aqua was shaking in anger. "You have insulted our pride for the last time,Dragons! Glaciem,destroy them." she ordered. Glaciem jumped and put his hand together.

"Rain of the Water Dragon!" he yelled. The ball of water shot out into the sky and rained down again.

"Everyone! Pull back. We can't risk getting hit by one of those things again." Lina yelled. "Only Dragon Slayers can resist the curse. We have to run!" Everyone was about to run when a hail of ice rained towards them. Their eyes widened in fear,not having enough time to cast any spells. Then just when they were about to get hit,a scaly tail blocked every last one.

"S-Suiro?" Lina looked to see the Water Dragon defending them.

"Leave at once,Lina." Suiro ordered. "You too,humans. This is a battle only Dragon Slayers may partake in."

"We won't leave,Suiro." Lina insisted. "If only Dragon Slayers can fight,we won't help them."

"We can be trusted enough to take on that responsibility." Erza included.

The Dragon bowed his head. "The truth is,I've exhausted most of my strength and I cannot continue to live here anymore. But I cannot go to the place where Igneel and the others are resting,for I have only little magic left. I will die here." he said while blocking the attacks.

"I am ashamed that my children have become this way,if I have not told them about you trackers,perhaps Linnol and Natalie would..."

"If that happens,I wouldn't be able to meet and fall in love with Natsu." Lina said. "Now,let me replenish you,Suiro." she added. "Your magic will be restored and your body will be healed. It's the least I could do. After all,you saved us."

"But you have already saved me,once from the poachers that tried to steal my scales while I slept. You protected me from them and I awoke to find you bruised and wounded. I cannot ask you for anymore." he said,lowering his head a bit more.

"It's fine,Suiro." she assured and put her hands on his scales. "And besides," she smiled, "this is a favor that I don't expect you returning." With that being said,Lina used her powers to heal Suiro completely. The rain of ice still pouring,Lina collapsed on the ground. She was helped up by Lucy and Erza.

Suiro let out his loudest roar. It stopped the ice rain and it cracked in the air. "Thank you,Lina." he said. "You are truly a gift given to us Dragons by the Gods. Good bye,old friend." After that,he flew straight into the air,and he vanished. The twins watched wide eyed at how their father abandoned them. Aqua turned to Lina,her eyes burning with rage.

"It's all your fault that our father left!" she screamed. "You will die. Storm of the Water Dragon!" she sent a gush of water towards her direction.

"Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!" Wendy yelled. Wendy expelled whirlinds from her arms,causing the attack to plummet in the other direction.

"You leave them alone!" Natsu yelled. He charged towards the enemy,but they dodged him. Glaciem was about to rush into another attack when he was hit by Gajeel's Iron Dragon Pillar.

"Don't drag the others into my fun!" he said maniacally. "You will see what true Dragon Slayers are capable of."

The fierce battle of the Dragon Slayers is about to begin...

* * *

_Ohhh... A battle's about to start..._

_Natsu:You'll see me in action! Just wait til I get my hands on them._

_Lina:There he goes again,still acting like an idiot._

_Natsu:Hey,that's kinda mean,coming from you._

_Lina:(giggles) I'm sorry... But it's true. Your not the only one battling. Gajeel and Wendy are with you._

_Natsu:But I'm the strongest? Right?_

_Lina:Of course you are._

_Me:Ugh,give me some privacy please. I'm having a writer's block as it is... Don't make it worse..._

_N&L:(completely ignoring me again and starts to ***)_

_Me:Stop that! Well anyways,the battle will begin in chapter 10... But I won't stop there~..._


	10. Clash of the Dragons

**Chapter 10:**

**Clash of the Dragons**

The Dragon Slayers of Fire,Sky,Metal and Water stood there,waiting for a moment to strike. Happy's sweat dropped to the ground,making a sound that was loud enough for the Dragon Slayers. They charged at each other.

"Pillar of the Iron Dragon!" Gajeel said as his arm extended into a metal pole.

"Claw of the Water Dragon!" Glaciem shouted. He blocked Gajeel's attack. He was about to attack Gajeel when Natsu butted in.

The two girls faced off. Wendy was standing straight and her hand flat just across her skirt,and the other one extended straight.

"Come on!" she shouted. Aqua was shocked then laughed.

"You dare provoke me? You insufferable little brat. Take this!" she said as she extended her arms. "Tentacle Spears of the Water Dragon!" out her hand came water spears that charged towards Wendy.

"Fast wind that runs the heaven..." she chanted. "VERNIER!" with that,she was engulfed in a sphere of blue light and floated safely out of harms way.

"How the-?" the woman asked in confusion.

"Roar of the Sky Dragon!" Wendy yelled. The woman was wide eyed and could barely dodge. She avoided a direct hit,but she still flew away. "Natsu,Gajeel,hang on!" She placed her hands above her head.

"Power of the stout arms that tears heaven..." she extended her hands at Natsu and Gajeel's direction. "ARMS!" A magic circle formed on their feet. In an instant,their magic powers increased considerably.

"Thanks,Wendy!" Gajeel called. Wendy smiled back.

"Wendy,look out!" Natsu yelled. She looked down and saw Aqua casting her spell again.

"Storm of the Water Dragon!" she roared. The water gushed out straight for Wendy,but it didn't reach her because she floated higher.

Wendy spread her arms and spun at great speed. She was spinning so fast,wind began to materialize on her body.

"Wind,calming beat; Hurricane,great sorrow; Storm,great dispair; Grant me your strength..." she chanted. She stopped spinning and back-flipped in the air,slamming her hands down pointed at Aqua. "Tempest Hurricane of the Sky Dragon!" she yelled. Tornadoes formed around Aqua in a circle,and a vortex threatens to suck her into an abyss. She held onto the ground like her life depended on it. Unfortunately,she got sucked in one of the tornadoes and flew straight up. There,Wendy was charging up an attack.

"Roar of the Sky Dragon!" she roared. The woman closed her eyes and smiled. She took on the full attack and she was plummeted to the gound. When the smoke cleared from Wendy's attack,Aqua's blood was spattered everywhere. She was smiling at her death. She was physically weak compared to Glaciem,so she accepted the fact that someone was stronger than her in magic.

'_Forgive me Glaciem. But I will see our Father first.'_ that was her last thought before she died. Wendy fell silent for a moment and prayed for her safe departure,then she realized,Natsu and Gajeel are also thrown up in the air. They were struggling so hard with Glaciem.

"Natsu,Gajeel!" she directed her energy towards them. "VERNIER!" they were engulfed by orange and green light and they were able to escape plummeting to the ground.

"Natsu,is that guy really strong?" Wendy asked. "I mean,his sister wasn't that strong at all. She's agile,but that's it."

"Yeah. He's far stronger than his sister. He packs one heck of a punch."

"Okay then." Wendy chanted again. "ARMOR!" the light engulfed their body this time,increasing their durability. Just then they heard a large explosion. They looked down and saw Glaciem attacking Erza,who requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor. And Lucy summoned Loke to fight with Erza.

"Gray,you should be fighting with them." Lina said. He was covering her with an ice shield.

"They can handle it on their own,after all,their Fairy Tail wizards." Gray assured. "And if Natsu saw me not protecting you,he'll try and kill me instead."

They both laughed. Above them,the others are planning a strategy.

"Let's just go down there and beat him up!" Natsu yelled.

"Got to agree with you on that one." Gajeel said while he nod.

"Wait,you shouldn't just-" Wendy tried to reason with them but it was too late. "Nevermind." she sighed as she went down with them.

As they got lower,they heard Glaciem crying. "Get Lina out here! I'm going to kill her! Someone killed my sister and I know it was her! She's gonna pay!" he said as he brushed off Loke and broke through Erza's defense.

"We won't let you have her!" Erza said as she changed into her Purgatory Armor.

"Erza! Hang on!" Natsu said. "Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!" he punched Glaciem and sent him flying. "Weren't you paying any attention at all? Lina wasn't involved in this fight,so your'e not gonna lay a hand on her!" he growled.

Wendy landed a little too near the ice shield and Lina. "It's only us Dragon Slayers." Wendy said. "I was the one that faced off with your sister. She died with a smile on her face,she died happy and content!"

"You did that?" his sapphire eyes widened. "Then you die!" he charged towards her,easily brushing off Natsu and Gajeel. Wendy was too surprised to move,and he was about to strike when she felt someone hug her and covered her.

"Lina!" Natsu cried out. Gray was shocked. Watching the battle made him forget his objective. Blood raced through Glaciem's icy claw and some got into Wendy's clothes. In front of her was Lina,her emerald eyes filled with determination and her stomach pierced through.

"L-Lina,why?" Wendy was starting to cry.

"I didn't want you to get hurt,you see?" Lina said,barely able to move her arm and patted Wendy on the shoulder. "I protect my friends,my _nakama_,don't worry about me. Tell Natsu...to finish...the job... And tell...him that...I love him..." she said as she collapsed when Glaciem let her go. Wendy was holding her head,crying and trying to heal her saviour.

Behind Glaciem,Natsu came charging in with his fists ablazed. Glaciem managed to dodge,but was hit by Gajeel.

Natsu ran to Lina's side and held her hand. "Lina,are you okay? Tell me she's gonna be okay! Please..." he asked histerically.

"I-I don't kn-know..." Wendy cried. "Her wounds...they're not healing." Then Puggo ran towards them.

"I can fix her again." He placed his hands on her wounds,then with a scream,his powers transferred to Lina's. The hole in her stomach disappeared and reappeared on Puggo.

"Puggo!" Happy yelled. "What did you do?"

"I simply performed my duty." he said with pride. "My mission was to give my life to her when the time comes. And I know this was it." he walked over to her head. "Lina... Lina... Come on,speak up." he was barely standing now,just crawling. "Oh,no. She's lost too much blood already, Oh,Lina... I'm so sorry,but I have to leave for a while." with that,Puggo glowed and transformed back into an egg.

"Puggo..." Lina whispered. Natsu was glad she was alive. But then,she was still unconcsious. He kissed her on the forehead.

"You idiot." Natsu whispered. "Never do that again." he said as tears came down her face.

"Natsu," Lucy called. "You and Wendy go and help Gajeel." she pointed to Gajeel enjoying the fight but still getting beaten. "Leave Lina to us."

"...Okay." Natsu said then left to attack Glaciem. Wendy nodded and followed.

"Come,on Gray. Help me carry her."

"Alright." they carried her back to shield and Erza stood guard if the fight goes too near them.

_Natsu..._

_Lina? Why are you inside my head? Are you alright?_

_I'm fine... Use the necklace... You can beat him... I believe in you..._

_Wait... Will you wake up,now? Lina!_

His thought was stopped when Wendy flew and landed on the ground.

"Natsu,what's wrong?" she asked,but barely able to stand. "He's really tough. Natsu,we need your help."

'Use the necklace... How do I use it?' he thought to himself. Then he saw a glow in the middle of the necklace. He put it on and a flurry of petals were released. They were burning and the fire was a bright pink color.

_...Eat it..._

He heard her again in his head. He wasted no time and devoured all the flames. After eating them,he felt a purifying power in him,increased his magic power and felt Lina's presence in him. "That fire tasted and smelled like Lina." he said. "Now that I've eaten..." he smacked his fist into his hand. "...Let's get this over with! A one on one battle! You and me,until one of us is dead!"

* * *

Ooohhh... A fight to the death... hihi...

_Natsu: yeah! And I'm gonna win!_

_Lina: you better put that necklace to good use or I swear I'm gonna..._

_Natsu: gonna what?_

_Me: SHUT UP! I BARELY HAD ANY SLEEP EARLIER SO PLEASE KEEP IT DOWN!_

_maybe I should just kill everyone in the end and get some sleep..._

_N&L: YOU CAN'T DO THAT!_

_Me: then SHUT UP!_

*Sighs* keep tuning in I guess...(The attack Wendy used, "Tempest Hurricane of the Sky Dragon" is my own original idea... hurray for me! XD)


	11. Friends as One

**Chapter 11:**

**Friends as One**

Natsu challenged Glaciem to a one-on-one death match.

"Hey,Natsu. You can't just do that! We can barely beat him together. How are you gonna beat him?" Gajeel asked. Natsu just glared at him and gave a low growl. Gajeel understood this and didn't want to get in his way.

"Gajeel," says a tired Wendy, "why did Natsu insist on fighting alone?"

Gajeel stared at her for a few seconds,then to Lina. "He wants to honor Lina's brave action of saving you,by defeating the enemy for good."

The two squared off,glaring at each other for a few seconds. Then charging up their power.

"Roar of the..."

"Storm of the..."

"Fire Dragon!"

"Water Dragon!"

A mix of light blue ice and orange-red fire blasted through the air. The pressure of their attacks was unnaturally powerful.

"Their trying to finish each other off with a roar?" Lucy yelped. Wendy and Gajeel nodded,but unsure. Both were equal at power now. Now they see who will give out first. A few minutes like that would have drained them of their magic. After all,a dragon's roar is very powerful. Not long afterwards,both of them are being pushed by the attacks themselves,they struggle to keep their footing,but both of them slipped. Their attacks rose into the air and dispersed. Both Natsu and Glaciem were panting heavily after that. Still they charged toward each other.

"Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu yelled. His fist burned anew and he charged at the enemy.

"Claw of the Water Dragon!" Glaciem yelled back. His hand was covered with ice in the shape of a claw. The two clashed with each other,unwavering. Natsu's as determined to kill Glaciem as do Glaciem to kill him.

"You can do it,Natsu!" Lucy cheered. Lina was still unconscious behind them,and Wendy went over there to get her some medicine she got from Porlyusica that speeds up blood restoration. They watched patiently as Natsu and Glaciem never moved an inch away from each other,attacking ruthlessly,refusing to let up.

"Lucy..." a quiet voice whispered. Lucy turned around and saw Lina,barely conscious,but awake.

"Lina!" she saw her trying to sit up. Lucy set her down gently. "You shouldn't move! Your still recovering from your massive blood loss. If it weren't for Puggo..." Lucy fell silent.

"I know." Lina responded. "Can...you give him...to me?" she asked,struggling more and more to breath. Since it hurts her stomach when she breaths. Puggo's magic can transfer the wound,but not the pain. A few moments later,Lucy brought what they believe was Puggo in egg form.

"Puggo..." Lina said,holding the egg. "Thank you..." she kissed the egg and placed it on her lap. "Lucy,what's...going on right now?"

"Natsu and Glaciem are doing a death match. They both seem to be equally good,but if this keeps up..." Lucy stopped in worry.

"Don't worry," Lina assured. "He's...gonna win." she said then passed out again.

"Lina!" Lucy caught her head and her back. She then gently laid her down like the first time. "Let's hope your'e right,Lina..."

In the battle,the yellow brilliance of the trees were mixed with red-orange anger and light blue sadness. They had been at this for 10 minutes now,and no one seems ready to give up.

"Your'e a tough one kid." Glaciem smirked. "Gotta admit I finally faced my match..."

Natsu smirked at him and said, "Match? By the time I'm done with you,that's all you'll be,a match that'll be lit on fire." Glaciem was outraged and charged towards him. Natsu braced himself and blocked the attack.

"Talons of the Fire Dragon!" he yelled as he kicked Glaciem with his burning feet. Glaciem flew back,but regained his balance.

"I've had enough!" he yelled. He panted while focusing all his energy. The water in the lake was being absorbed into his attack. Natsu saw this and quickly came up with a battle plan,but he needed Lina and the other two's help.

_"Lina? Are you there? he asked in his thought._

_"Natsu?" she asked in shock. "I thought you were fighting with-"_

_"I still am. Listen I need to ask you something."_

_"What is it?"_

_"Can you link Wendy and Gajeel with our thoughts?"_

_"Uh,yeah. Why?"_

_"I need their help with this one."_

_"Alright..."_

_"Gajeel! Wendy!"_

The two Dragon's reacted. "What? I thought I heard Lina just now."

"Me,too." Gajeel said as he rubbed his back.

_"Gajeel! Wendy! Listen to me."_

_"L-Lina,where are you?" Wendy asked._

_"I'm sleeping right now. But no time to explain. Natsu..."_

_"Right. Guys,I have a favor to ask you." Natsu said._

_"Sure,what is it?" Wendy said. Gajeel just stared at their battle,at Natsu._

_"You listening,Gajeel? Don't get me wrong,I like being eyed and all,but I don't think this is the perfect time."_

_"I-I'm not eyeing you!" he huffed. "Jerk. Anyway what do you want?"_

_"I need you two to focus your magic powers and give them to me." he said. "And quickly..."_

_"Why?" they asked at the same time._

_"No time to explain. Just do it. Hurry!"_

...and with thattheir voices faded.

"What are we gonna do?" Gajeel asked,looking at Wendy.

"We just need to rely on Natsu now." she said bravely. "I'm sure he can do it."

"You drive a hard bargain,kid." he smirked. "But I like the way you think. Let's do this!" Wendy nodded and focused. Gejeel focused as well. Seconds later,their magic became visible and was being gathered into Natsu's hands.

'I can feel their energy.' Natsu thought. And he began focusing his own magic power. It's became a huge ball,so focusing it into one hand was tedious. He lifted up his other arm and balanced it out.

The water from the lake was quickly draining,and Natsu sitll doesn't have enough magic power to overtake it. Gajeel and Wendy were giving it all they got,suddenly they felt another surge of power,but from a different source. They turned to see where it was and saw their friends gathering their magic powers as well.

'Lina...' Natsu thought again. His friends behind him are giving him everything they've got.

"You can do it,Natsu!" Lucy cheered,while giving him all her magic. Erza smiled and nodded.

"Natsu!" Gray yelled. "If you don't come back from this,I'm seriously gonna kill you!" Natsu smirked then chuckled. Everyone was helping him out to finish the battle.

Moments later,the lake water completely dried up,and was absorbed by Glaciem. "Now," he said in a menacing voice. "You will know the true power of a Water Dragon Slayer. Water Dragon: Ultimate Tsunami!" He threw the giant water ball to the ground and it spread like a giant tidal wave. "Die Fire Dragon Slayer!" Everyone finished giving Natsu their magical powers.

"You can never defeat me as long as I have my friends!" He focused every ounce of his strength to the giant fire ball. "Fire Dragon: Meteor Strike!" As he threw the giant fire ball and overtook the tsunami,his friends were all thinking the same thing.

'Natsu will win!" they kept chanting in their heads. Natsu yelled as the fire ball went straight for Glaciem. He was wide eyed and shocked. He couldn't move and the fire engulfed him. He was screaming in agony and pain as the fire burned his skin.

'Sister...' he thought. He felt one tear drop from his face,but dissipated in the fire. Nothing can save him now. He just stood there and smiled as his body turned to ash.

A few minutes later,there were no traces of him. There were ashes from where he stood. Natsu turned to his friends and gave them a smile.

His friends let out a celebrative cheer. They defeated their enemies and returned Lina back to normal. He walked over to Lina and he knelt beside her. He lifted her head and kissed her forehead. He carried her,seeing as she shows no sign of waking up there. They went to the village to say their good byes one last time. They travelled by train again.

Lina finally woke up a few hours after boarding the train. When she opened her emerald eyes,she saw onyx eyes staring at her. Natsu had been looking after her then.

"Natsu..." she smiled. She recieved a goofy-fanged grin from her partner. She was lying on his lap,like the first time she fainted.

"About time you woke up." Gray said. "Natsu wouldn't let any of us near you. He kept glaring at us and even at Erza."

"Though he always gets a punch in the face when he does that." Lucy laughed. Lina and the others laughed with her. Lina wrapped her arms around Natsu's neck and lifted herself up

"Natsu..." she whispered.

"What is it?" he asked,feeling a little concerned.

She leaned on his ear and smiled. "... I surrender." Natsu literally lit up when she said that. His body was on fire,but it didn't harm Lina. The fire failed to hide the pink blush in his cheeks. He carried her and dashed towards the bed car.

"Wait!" Lucy called out. "Lina,how did you do that...telepathy thing,nevermind." she sighed as Natsu was already at the other side of the car.

"What was that all about?" Gray asked in confusion. Wendy smiled and Gajeel smirked.

"I guess Lina finally surrendered." Wendy sighed. "I was really hoping she'd win."

"That horny fire-brat." Gajeel smirked. "He couldn't even wait til the train stopped." Gray and Erza were confused,but Lucy knew what they were talking about.

"When did Lina surrender?" Erza asked. "And come to think of it,what did she surrender to?"

"Yeah,someone has to explain that to us." Gray demanded. Gajeel and Wendy pointed through the halls.

"Listen..." they said. So they listened. A few seconds later,they heard a roar that was obviously Natsu and a moan that they think belonged to Lina. Their faces turned bright pink.

"O-oh..." Erza said in embarassment. Gray just hung his mouth open. Lucy and Wendy giggled. Gajeel just huffed. Still,their faces were all bright pink since they know what was going on.

In the bed car,people were also bright pink when they were hearing this.

"Such a lively couple!" a woman said near their bed. The group of people who were with her were flushed with embarassment.

"Natsu..." Lina panted. "People are hearing us." He drilled deep into her and she moaned loudly.

"I don't care,mate." he smirked. "You surrendered. That means you have no control over this." He pierced her again and her moaned even louder. She wanted to cover her mouth,but Natsu has a hold on both her hands,and if she bit her lip,Natsu would bite it harder.

"Natsu!" she wailed as she came. Natsu grunted as he felt her walls clamping down on him for the third time. He gave a few more hard thrusts and he released his load as well. They laid on the bed,him on top. He rolled over to the other side and they panted heavily.

"Idiot." she managed to say. "Your'e gonna get us in trouble you know."

He leaned to her and kissed her on the lips. "I don't care. I can handle them. And besides," he smirked. "I'm not done yet." He pointed to his already twitching and hardening member. "All that lust you sealed in me is about to rain down on you. Hard." He positioned himself on top of her again.

"It can't be helped. Stupid Dragon and your hormones." she said as she pulled him down to kiss him.

"Love you,too." he said slyly. He began to trail kiss from her cheek to her Fairy Tail mark. It had a brown spot in the middle. "I'm gonna have my 30 babies with you,for sure."

"Over my d-" she couldn't finish when Natsu pierced her. She moaned a bit louder now.

"There gonna be in there for a while..." Gajeel said after hearing Lina moan again.

"Well,look on the bright side," Lucy exclaimed. "At least there will be no puking Natsu on this train ride." Everyone else laughed when she said that.

* * *

**Is it finished? Is the story finally over? Will someone smack some sense into Natsu before he tears Lina apart?**

_Natsu: to answer your question. No,the story isn't finished,yet. And no one can stop me! She's my mate._

_Lina: god I'm tired. Someone,help me! I never should have surrendered._

_Natsu: now,now. Get back to bed,I'm not done with you yet,mate._

_Me: Bitch Please! Give me some privacy! Get the heck out of my room. But his right,this isn't the end. New enemies and a whole new hunt for Dragons. So please look forward to it! Next chapter will explain why Catnip Trouble is connected to Dragon Hunt. Please bear with me!_

_**Enjoy! (BTW: Fire Dragon:Meteor Strike was my idea,okay? XD)**_


	12. A notso Quiet Day

_This chapter confirms the connection of Catnip Trouble and Dragon Hunt..._

**Chapter 12:**

**A not-so Quiet Day**

Everyone was excited when the group came back to the guild. It's only been a week since they left,but it felt lonely without them. Once they got back though,the Master ordered them to go on another mission. It was to catch an escaped convict on an island west from Magnolia. Natsu whined but was forced to take the mission. A few days later,they got into the weekly Sorcerer about the issue of destroying the entire village.

"Lucy,where are you going?" Natsu asked while crawling back to the guild.

"I'm going home! Don't follow me." she pouted then left. Gray then pumelled Natsu onto the ground. They were fighting again and Erza gave those two another death glare. A few minutes later Lina walked into the guild. She saw Natsu resting his head on the bar table.

"Good morning Mira~" Lina said as she walked towards the bar and sat beside Natsu.

"Good morning,Lina." the petite white-haired bartender greeted back. "What's gotten you so perked up today?"

Lina smiled and said, "It's a secret. And Natsu's got something to do with it." Natsu lifted his head and stared at Lina. Lina blinked a few times and asked him what's wrong.

"You said you have a secret. Tell me." Natsu insisted. He grabbed her arm and forcefully pulled her towards him. "Tell me."

"Natsu," she sighed. "Fine. I will. But only because you'll find out sooner or later." Natsu gave her a smile of victory. "I'm..." Mira and Natsu leaned closer. Lina's faced grew pink and she looked down.

"Your'e..." Mira said,hoping that the brunnette would continue. Natsu began to stare again.

"I'm moving...to Natsu's." she said hesitantly. The two mages who were listening had their eyes widened and blinked a few times.

"What?" Natsu reacted,realizing what the woman said. "You can't be! I thought you were staying at Lucy's?"

"Lucy went on a vacation trip with Loke. She said she'll be back in a week,so I wanted to stay with you." she explained. "Do you not want me to stay with you?" she asked,looking a little depressed.

"It's not that," Natsu said as he caressed her cheek. "The reason is that I might go crazy and hurt you. Your smell is really addictive,you know that?" he smirked. "Alright,you can stay. But I have to get Happy out of there,I don't want him to see me all crazy and out of control."

"Like what you do in every battle?" Mira chuckled. "You should be blessed that your mate is wanting to stay at your place,isn't that right? I'll invite Happy over with Wendy and Charles so they can have a catnip tea party. Just for a week right?" Natsu and Lina nodded. "Alright." She went to the other side of the bar and talked to Wendy.

"Now," Natsu said with a smirk. "What game should we play?"

"G-Game?" she asked. She was confused as to what game he's talking about.

"That's right." Natsu said a seductively sexy voice. "If your'e gonna stay at my place,I'm gonna need to keep your energy up. Wouldn't want you dying in pleasure,now do you,mate?" he said as he licked her neck. Lina yelped and felt herself getting hot.

"Not fair,Natsu." she nervously smiled. "My guard's down."

Then his eyes gazed at her. He lifted his head and smiled. "I think I know a great game." he said playfully. "It's called 'My hunting game'."

"Hunting...game?" She asked in confusion. Natsu nodded.

"The rules are simple,you need to run away from me,and hide yourself in any part of Magnolia. If I catch you before sunset,you'll have no choice but to do what I tell you to as my mate." he grinned. "But if you win,and I don't catch you,you get to play with my Dragon Instincts some more. You'll get to sexually torture me again."

"What?" she asked in surprised,then grinned. "If that's the case," she ran towards the door. "See ya later!" she yelled while laughing wildly.

"Let the hunt begin." Natsu said and smirked. He followed Lina quickly,who was already out of sight from the guild. "Damn,that girl is fast." he thought to himself.

Lina was running frantically,getting anywhere else except where Natsu could sniff her out. She went through alleys,down river bridges,and even across a junkyard. She was determined for him not to follow. She rested on a tall tree,west of Magnolia. It was noon,and she was kinda hungry. Her stomach was growling because of all the running. She jumped down and went to a nearby restaurant.

She ordered a light meal because she was going to run again. When she finished,she left and dashed to the North,in an attempt to confuse Natsu. Meanwhile,Natsu was following her scent. He went through the excact same places where she had been. He almost gave up when he passed by the junkyard,because of the smell. He passed by the same restaurant that Lina ate at and asked if they've seen her. Fairy Tail members are famous around Magnolia,and all he had to ask is if they've seen a girl with a Fairy Tail mark on her neck. The others answered quickly and pointed North.

Lina passed by a crowded area in the North. She knew that she was going to be hard to sniff out if there was a crowd. She slipped through to the front and saw the reason why the people were gathered there. Gray was making ice sculptures for show. He was really an exhibisionist.

"Gray!" Lina laughed. Gray saw her and immediately stopped.

"Lina!" he yelped. "I-it's not what it looks like." he began to panic.

"Don't worry Gray,I won't tell." Lina assured. "And if Natsu passes by here,tell him you haven't seen me,kay?" she winked. Gray blushed a bit,then nodded. After that,she ran off into the East. A few moments later,Natsu appeared in front of the crowd.

"What are you doing here?" Gray called out. Natsu just smirked.

"Gray,I know Lina's been here. Where is she?" he demanded. Gray shook his head.

"Tell me!" he roared. Gray saw the lust in his eyes. Now he gets why Lina was avoiding him.

"Over my dead body." The two began to fight wildly in the streets. "Lina," he thought. "You owe me big time."

Somewhere near Magnolia's public bath,Lina was resting herself on a tree again. "I'm probably sure that Natsu and Gray are fighting right now." she thought while drinking a fruit-flavored drink. "I need to thank him later,whether or not I win this game." she said as she finished up the last of her drink. She got down from the tree and disposed of the bottle.

"Now," she said as she stretched her arms. "Let's see what I can do to make Natsu's challenge a little more difficult." she lifted her arms and her eyes glowed blue. She lifted a heavy box,and rubbed some her scent to it. She then threw it high and scattered it around Magnolia. She grinned and left again.

Natsu and Gray had been fighting for hours now. The sun was nearly touching the mountains,meaning a few more hours and Lina would win.

"Gray,just give up!" yells a panting Natsu. "Just tell me where Lina headed off to."

"Not on your life,Natsu!" Gray yelled back. Just then,a piece of the heavy box flew over them. Natsu realized her scent and thought it was her. He ran after it.

"Natsu,wait!" Gray said,but could barely stand now. "Damn it. Lina I hope you don't run into trouble." he thought as he passed out.

Natsu followed the flying piece and landed on a river. "Smart girl..." he said as he destroyed the piece of the box. "Now I have a reason to punish you." he smirked and dashed forward.

Lina was now waiting for sunset at Magnolia South Gate Park. She was happy that she would win against him,of all people. While waiting,she overheard a conversation that peaked her interest.

"The Draconem Quantitas ostio is almost opened,your Lordship." a guy in a black hood said.

"Good. How long?" a man with blonde hair,wearing a knight's armor and a red cape asked.

"Draconem Quantitas ostio... That stands for 'Dragon Dimension Door'!" Lina gasped.

"It will take us another 2 weeks,sir." the hooded man said.

"Excellent. Let us go now." he left and the hooded man followed.

Lina was still up the tree,stunned. "Why would they be looking for that...?" she asked in her thought. It was almost sundown,and Natsu was nowhere in sight. So she jumped down. Her balance slipped and almost fell. She saw that someone had caught her. And that someone was Natsu. And the sun was just a few more seconds before going down completely.

"Natsu!" she yelped.

"I gotcha!" he growled low. "Before sunset. Now your mine,no questions ask." he smirked.

"But-" she was cut off when Natsu caught her lips.

"You really had to hide here of all places,huh?" Natsu said,then lapped around her neck.

Lina pouted and folded her arms. "S-Shut up..." she has completely forgotten about the strange men. Natsu just smirked and chuckled.

"You lost. So you can't boss me around." he said with a sexy tone. "Now,let's go home. I'm gonna have to punish you for pulling that stunt you did earlier."

"W-What stunt? I didn't do anything." she said innocently. Then Natsu bit down on her neck,hard. She screamed and he pulled out and licked the blood dry.

"Lying. Another punishment." he said chuckling some more. "You had no idea how those flying pieces of wood got your scent?" Lina froze for a bit. Then she just leaned on his chest.

"I give up." Lina said in surrender. Natsu smirked and nuzzled her in his neck.

"Good,cause I don't want to hurt you anymore." he said with a genuine happy smile. "I promise to be gentle,don't worry."

When they got home,his place was suprisingly clean. The fridge had full stocks of food,and the bed was surprisingly big. He carried Lina up to the bed and set her down gently. She was already asleep,tired of all that running. Natsu kissed her on the cheek and went to the kitchen to get something to eat.

"My mate is asleep already..." he sighed. "I guess going all the way tomorrow will make her limp and weak." Suddenly,a knife darted through his door. He caught it just before it reached him. He saw a man in a black hood running away. He ran after him,and caught a glimpse of his tattoo. It had a shape of a dark Dragon.

"Who is that guy?" he thought. "Lina!" he realized that she might be in trouble. He saw no sign of trouble in the bedroom. He snuggled her on him and placed her head on his arm. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled the covers up to their torsos. He wanted no one to touch Lina. He hardly slept,feeling paranoid about her safety.

* * *

_Me: I wonder who those guys are? *smirk*_

_Natsu: whoever they are,they're not gonna touch Lina!_

_Lina: I'm not weak,Natsu!_

_Natsu: still..._

_Lina: alright..._

_N&L: stay tuned! Next chapter we'll reveal those idiots with the dark Dragon Tattoo..._

_Me: That's my line! Anyway,what they said... *sigh* Lina already explained the Latin Word,right?_


	13. Slayers X

**Chapter 13:**

**Slayers X**

It was a fine morning in Magnolia. Wendy was walking to the guild with Charles.

"Hey Charles," Wendy called. "Do you want to have a tea party today?"

Charles thought for a moment. "I think we already have one today,remember? Mira invited us over with Happy."

"Oh,that's right. I forgot." Wendy said while smiling sheepishly. Charles smiled back. They were only a few walks away from the guild,but a group of hooded men blocked their path. Soon they were surrounded.

"Wendy," Charles whispered. "Be ready on my signal." Wendy nodded. The men were about to throw something at them.

"Now,Wendy jump!" Charles ordered. Wendy jumped high,and Charles took hold of her and carried her to the guild. Before they could leave,Wendy was hit in the leg by a needle. She gasped in shock and Charles looked over to see the hooded men. Their arms were tattooed with a dark Dragon. Charles then felt Wendy get heavy. She looked at her and saw she was unconscious.

Back at the guild,Lina was thanking Gray by giving him some chocolate she made. Natsu was glaring and growling low at Gray. Juvia was glaring at Lina. Juvia and Natsu looked at each other and nodded,as if some agreement has been made. After giving the chocolate,Natsu grabbed Lina by the arm and carried her away. Gray was about to shout at them when Juvia almost drowned him. Just then,Charles busted in the guild,carrying Wendy along with grabbed the guild's attention. She placed Wendy in the infirmary. Lina came quickly as soon as Natsu let her go.

"What happened?" Lina asked while doing repair magic on Wendy. Light engulfed her body and she was fine,still unconscious,though.

"A bunch of guys with black hoods did this." Charles said,almost growling. "They had tattoos of a dark Dragon on their arms..."

"Dark Dragon..." Natsu said as he remembered last night's attack.

"Black hooded men,huh?" Lina asked as she remembered yesterday's conversation she overheard. Wendy woke up minutes later.

"What...happened? Charles?" Wendy asked,still dazed. Charles went to her and hugged her tight.

"It's alright,Wendy. I'm here." she assured. Just then,Levy and Gajeel walked into the room. Gajeel had small cuts on him,but Levy stayed safe.

"What happened to you?" Natsu sneered. Levy pouted at his attitude but tried to explain anyway.

"We were walking to the guild today," she began. "Then suddenly,we were surrounded by a bunch of guys with black hoods and dark Dragon tattoos."

"We keep getting that a lot." Lina sighed. "But still,someone needs to tell us who those guys are. And I'm wondering if that blondie I saw yesterday was their leader. They said something about the 'Draconem Quantitas ostius' or a Dragon's dimesion door."

"I think I can explain the situation." Everyone turned around and saw the Master with Erza. They listened to him and gathered around.

"Alright. The group that attacked you today,was none other than the hidden dark guild: Slayers X." He said.

"Slayers X? Who are they? And why are they attacking us?" Lina asked in anger. Master shook his head.

"You are wrong,Lina." he said in a calm tone. "They are only after two things. Dragons and Dragon Slayers."

"We guild masters were looking into this a few weeks ago. We've gathered that they are looking for a Dimension door that can lead them to Dragons." Then he bowed his head. "Then,we found Lina's parents' profiles while researching." Lina was wide-eyed when she heard this. She leaned on Natsu's chest,and he leaned in a little bit.

"It's for a good reason,Lina." Master Makarov assured. "Your parents were assigned to guard that dimension door. I seems that they were to guard an ancient stone there that is the source of your clan's powers,is it not?"

"Yes..." Lina leaned on Natsu more. "If I remembered correctly,it was the Stone of Dragon's Soul. Legend says it was connected to the Lake of Dragon's Soul,that it supplied the lake of it's never ending plant life. Until a dark wizard took it from the lake. It is said that our forefathers defeated this evil wizard,and sealed the Dragon Stone in the Dimension door,where it is to be guarded by Trackers,and...Dragons."

"Dragons?" Makarov asked while raising an eyebrow. Lina nodded.

"It is said that behind the dimension door,is the realm of the Dragons. But no one is allowed to enter the dimension door. Because if they were to get there hands on the stone inside,they will not only have the ability to track dragons,they will also possess their psychic abilities and can control Dragons at will." Everyone was surprised to hear of a powerful stone that they didn't know existed. "I can use psychic abilities and the repair magic because of the stone. The closer we are to the stone,the more powerful we get. That's why Trackers with discipline and courage are the only people who can guard the stone."

"Is the stone being guarded now?" Erza asked. Lina shook her head.

"No one has ever taken my parents' place. Since then,they sealed the door,in the hopes of keeping it's secret to be found out. But I guess these Slayers X must've found out and are on their way there. They said that it'll be ready in two weeks. They had to have been removing the seal. We have to stop them!" Lina exclaimed.

Makarov nodded his head. "Alright,I'm assigning this mission to you guys. Erza,Gray,Natsu,Lina,Wendy,Gajeel,Levy and Juvia. Lucy will be informed later on since she's on vacation. Your mission is to find Slayers X and destroy them,protecting the stone in the process."

"Alright! Then we have no time to lose." Natsu yelled.

"Aye,sir!" Happy said while saluting in the air. Everyone else nodded. They were to embark on a serious mission.

Meanwhile,outside of town...

Lucy was taking a dip in the hot springs. "Huh?" she asked in confusion. "I felt a shiver down my spine... Maybe I'm just being paranoid again. Oh,well..."

* * *

**I edited this chapter because I thought the other one was boring... T_T**

**This chapter is freakin' short! Less than a thousand words if not for these extras! Oh!**

**By the way,Catnip Trouble will only last til chapter 6... Because Lucy gets too much screen time for her big butt ego.**

**Lucy: Hey! I heard that!**

**Me: Oh... Sorry... ^_^**


	14. Dreaming

**Chapter 14:**

**Dreaming**

"I'm here." Lucy shouted as she enetered the guild in the middle of the night. Only the people who were chosen for this mission were left including the Master and Mirajane.

"Ahh,Lucy. Good to see you." Makarov said with a cheerful smile. Lucy waved a hand to him as she went straight to the bar where everyone else is.

"Good to see you,Lucy." Erza said. Lucy nodded and her eyes went serious.

"Alright," she began. "What's the mission?" Erza,Wendy and Lina explained to her the mission. "I see. So when do we leave?"

"We'll leave a little later before dawn." Gray answered. "That's why none of us is leaving the guild. We already packed our things."

"Well I didn't pack mine!" Lucy exclaimed.

Mirajane smiled and said, "Don't worry,Lucy. Gray went to your house earlier to get all the things you need."

"Gray?" she exclaimed. "How did you get into my house!" Gray just blushed and shyed away,only to stare directly into Juvia's wide,glaring eyes.

"How come Gray-sama comes to Lucy's house,when she's not even there? And when Juvia invites him over he refuses!" Juvia outraged. "Juvia feels sad. Juvia feels like...crying!" then she burst into tears. Everyone tried to calm her down before reaching the risk of drowning.

After that little scandal,everyone waited patiently for a train whistle to signal them to move.

"Lucy," Levy whispered. "I heard from Gray..."

"Heard what?" Lucy asked rather confused.

"I heard about your novels," she giggled. "The Dragon's Risk,Lion Romance,and even Ice Prince." Lucy froze. She blushed out of embarrassment. Then raged out in anger.

"GRAY!" she yelled,waking the ones who are half-asleep. "How dare you break into my house and read my novels! You'll pay!" Lucy said as Gray ran frantically in circles.

"It's not my fault! You were the one who left it obvious." Gray defended.

"I left it like that because I thought no one would break in!" Lucy yelled,practically breathing fire. Levy let out a sigh and sweatdropped.

"I guess I shouldn't have metioned it to her,huh?" she said innocently.

"Gee,you think?" everyone else responded. Her sweat dropped again. Lucy finally caught Gray and was about to smack him senseless when they heard the train whistle. Everyone jolted from their seats and headed for their bags. Natsu was carrying Lina's luggage,much to her protests. Gray wasn't carrying that much,since he knew he'd strip it off anyway. Lucy's pack was pretty essential,thanks to Gray. Erza had a cart-full of bags.

They said good bye to Master Makarov and Mirajane then went to the train. The seats can occupy six people in a group. So it's Erza,Lucy,Natsu,Gray and Lina on the left side; and Wendy,Gajeel,Levy and Juvia on the right. When they got seated,Lina tried to explain where they were headed. Although she struggled a bit with Natsu's sleeping weight was smothering her.

"Alright," she sighed after putting Natsu's head in her lap. "We're going back to the East. We're going back to the Forest of Fire to get to our destination."

"Where is our destination?" Lucy asked.

"The Ruins of the Dragons. Since ancient times,the people of the East believed in Dragons,possibly worshiped them. The place we are going to is the last place where they last saw the Dragons,before the said disappearance in year x777. I was too young to understand then,but that is the place where the Stone of Dragon's Soul is sealed."

"If we're going to get there,we need both courage and discipline,no exception. That's why I couldn't get there when I was young,I was scared and not physically and mentally trained."

"Are there tests given before entering the Ruins? Is it the reason you need courage and discipline?" Erza asked. Lina nodded.

"There is only one thing that will keep us off the ruins. It's called Illusion Mountain. That mountain contains powerful magic that tests Trackers and other individuals before even reaching the end of the mountain. The first test is to test your discipline. You will be shown individual visions of things you cannot stand. Those that push you to your very brink. Like a memory from the past,or haunting vision from the future. You need to believe in yourself and stay calm if you don't want to be trapped in the mountain forever."

Everyone shuddered,even Natsu who was sleeping.

"Can Natsu hear us?" Wendy asked.

"No,he's asleep. I'm telepathically informing him of everything. So by the time he wakes up,he'll know everything we've been talking about."

"Lina,continue. What is the second test?" Erza said.

"After you passed the first test,you'll be magically transported to halfway across the mountain. You run straight from there,and the mountain will test your courage. You will again be shown individual things,visions,or even persons that scare you the most. You need to accept those fears and move on,otherwise,instead of trapping you,the mountain will kill your ability to think,and you'll die insane."

"That's horrible!" Lucy exclaimed.

Lina and the others nodded in agreement. "Once you pass both trials,you will be then sent to the end of the mountain,which is the Ruins of the Dragons."

"Listen,everyone!" Erza ordered. "You need to start thinking of what you fear most now,so you can come to terms with or defeat them later."

"I don't have any fears!" Gajeel barked. Levy pouted at him,and he calmed down.

"You don't know that for sure,Gajeel." Erza warned.

"Juvia is afraid of losing Gray-sama." she said as she cuddled near Gray. Gray just looked away,afraid that if he reacted badly,she might drown everyone in the train.

A little later,everyone fell asleep because they didn't get any sleep earlier. Lina fell asleep without realizing that she's letting Natsu into her thoughts.

_**:Dream:**_

_Natsu woke up on a green field and wind blowing through._

_"Where am I?" he said as he rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms. He noticed something moving across the field. He squinted and saw Lina,running,as if she's after someone._

_"Hey Lina!" he called. But no response. He looked behind him to see who she was running to,since she's running from no one,and saw him. Another Natsu. A dream Natsu. He was stunned. He was shocked by this._

_"Natsu!" He looked around to see Lina,crying and almost tripping. The Dream Natsu was just there,looking at her._

_"Lina,wait." Natsu said. He was about to grab her hand when it went right through him. He then realized that everything was a dream._

_"Natsu," Lina cried. "Don't leave,please!" The Dream Natsu shoved her away and continued walking. "Natsu,please. Stay!"_

_"No,Lina." the Dream Natsu said unemotionally. "I have no need to stay anymore. Everyone... Everyone is dead,now." Natsu couldn't believe his ears. Everyone,his nakama was dead._

_"Natsu,please!" Lina pleaded. "They are not dead and you know it. They just turned to stone,but we can fix them! Why are you so anxious to leave?"_

_The Dream Natsu pulled his arm away from her and glared at her,with anger in his eyes._

_"I could never do that..." Natsu thought to himself._

_"Fine! You wanna know why I want to leave so bad?" The Dream Natsu said. "It's because... I don't love you anymore!"_

_Lina froze,her hands dropped and her stance stiffened. She was still crying,but couldn't blink. Then she regained from the shock and cried even more._

_"What did I do for you to leave me? To leave us?" she cried out._

_"You were one of the reasons they turned to stone,right?" The Dream Natsu said coldly. "You risked using your powers,and it cost them their lives..."_

_"That's not true!" she defended. "You were with me that time,so you know it's not true!"_

_"It is! And it's because of you that everyone turned to stone. It's because of your stupid powers!"_

_"Natsu,please..." Lina pleaded. "I can't live without you anymore. I need you. Please." The Dream Natsu stood still,and let the wind pass. Afterwards his other hand smacked Lina on the face,hard. Lina flew over to a short distance. The Real Natsu's eyes widened,and tears started to form._

_"Wha...What is this?" he asked himself. "I could never do that to her." Then he saw the Dream Natsu leaving._

_"If you can't live without me," the Dream Natsu questioned. "Here." He threw a knife near Lina. "I don't ever want to see or hear from you again. Understand? I'll find a way to turn them back to normal,without you..."_

_"Good bye..." After that,light covered him and he disappeared. Lina was kneeling from where she laid. Natsu saw her grab the knife._

_"Lina..." he said weakly. He saw her putting it above her chest,and suddenly,everything became dark and slow. Only the two of them with light. _

_"No! Don't do it! Please! Don't do it!" he yelled and he yelled,still he was too slow to stop her. He saw her stabbing herself and blood scattered everywhere._

_**:End of Dream:**_

Natsu woke up,panting hard,sweaty,and crying. Everyone else was still asleep. Then he looked up to him and saw Lina's face,flushed and was crying as well. He caressed her cheek and quickly rose up to kiss her. He was still panting,but he managed to wake Lina up.

"Natsu..." she said as she woke up. She realized she had tears running down her face. She was shocked and tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Natsu I..." she said as she was wiping her tears. He caressed her cheek again and made her look at him.

"Lina..." he whispered. "Were you dreaming... about me... leaving you?" Realizing he saw everything,Lina's eyes widened even more and she started crying again. She hugged Natsu and cried even more.

"Natsu..." she sobbed. "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have thought of something like that. I'm sorry..." She felt his hand lightly pat on her head.

"You know," Natsu said. "that was most scared I ever felt." She felt him crying as well. "You really know how to scare someone. Don't ever doubt about us again." he said as he kissed her again. They both tasted their salty tears that ran down their faces. They still cried,even after seeing each other smile.

"What if..." Lina hesitantly said. "What if the mountain makes us see that vision again in the test of courage?"

"Then we know what to do..." he smiled. "No one can make me leave you,remember? They have to pry you open from my cold,dead hands."

Lina hugged him and leaned on his chest. They switched this time,so Natsu was the one in the chair,and she was being carried. They both went back to sleep in each other's arms,smiling and happily dreaming.

* * *

_I had a dream similar to this. I made it an inspiration... XD_

_I edited the extras... Please review so I can decide to postpone this or continue it! T_T_


	15. Realization

**Chapter 15:**

**Realization**

Natsu and the others are fully awake now. Everyone seemed to be doing what they did when they were asleep,imagining the worst case scenarios so they can come to terms with it. Lucy said she didn't feel comfortable sleeping,because she keeps imagining spiders,roaches,rats and other nasty creatures. Wendy was just dizzy from imagining too much purple plums. Gray and Juvia looked like they didn't care at all. Gajeel,as usual,was smirking and eating a piece of the metal board in front of him.

"Do you think we can handle this?" Lucy asked,her voice sounded shaky.

"We just have do believe in ourselves." Erza said simply. "Remember that everything there is an illusion,that it isn't real and you can move past it."

Lina looked at Erza for a moment. Erza stared back,rather stern. "What is it?" Erza asked,snapping Lina out of her thought.

"O-Oh,nothing. It's just,you seem like a very strong woman. I wonder if you have any fears at all." she chuckled slightly. Erza hummed at the compliment and looked away. They have two more days before reaching the East,and another 3 days just to reach the mountain. They have plenty of time to think of their worst fears.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Lina said. Natsu grabbed her hand and pulled her back down. She stood up again and looked at his begging eyes.

"Don't go." Natsu whined like a child. "If you go,I'm coming with you."

"Natsu," Lina sighed. "It's just for a little while. I'll be back soon,okay? You stay put." Lina walked away again. The instant Natsu let her go,he became nauseous and dizzy. He laid limply on their seats. Everyone just laughed a little,seeing as Natsu was a little dependent of her.

Lucy was looking at Natsu,who was trying to hold back his breakfast from coming back. She smiled a bit.

'How did I end up falling for him before?' she thought to herself.

'Maybe it's because of his overprotectiveness,Lucy. That's what got me the first time.' she heard Lina's voice in her head.

'Lina!' she gasped unconsciounsly. 'What are you doing?'

'I can hear everything.' she said. 'The closer I get to the stone,the more powerful my psychic ability is,and we're miles away from the stone. Just think if it was only inches in front of me.' she giggled.

'Still,that doesn't give you the right to peek into other people's minds!' she answered abruptly.

'He liked you,you know?' Lina said,quickly changing the topic. Lucy's face relaxed a bit.

'What? What do you mean?' she asked. She heard Lina chuckle softly.

'You know what I mean. You heard it. The first time in the hot springs.' she said. Lucy's eyes widened a bit as she remembered.

'He said that he was after you before I came along. And come to think of it,I was really planning on supporting you if I hadn't fallen for him.' she chuckled again.

'But still,he chose you,and that's that.' Lucy said,rather sad. Lina was walking back to their seats when she saw her sad expression.

'I know you have someone else in your heart now.' she said. 'But it's harder to let go if you can't move on. And Loke might go all jealous if he ever finds out about this.' Lucy saw Lina smirking.

'How did you know that?' Lucy asked,shocked.

'It's what your heart is telling you. That you've moved on. That you've found someone for yourself.' Lucy felt her hand tapping her shoulder. 'I guess you really must've fallen hard for Natsu since you can't seem to shake the feelings off.'

Lucy blushed and looked away. She was ashamed to admit that she was a little jealous. Lina smiled and lifted her chin up.

"Hey,your'e in love. Don't worry about it." she whispered as she went to her seat,carefully moving Natsu out of the way and laying him on his lap. His face was normal again when he smelled Lina.

"Everything I said is true." she says to the depressed Lucy. "You've moved on,you just haven't realized it yet."

Natsu was recovering from his motion-sickness. He slowly opened his eyes. He was glad Lina was back again. He laid comfortably in her lap and dozed away in his dreams. Lina smiled a bit and caressed his cheek.

'What I said was true,too.' Lucy said in her thoughts,causing the brown-haired girl to look at her. 'He chose you for a reason. He needs you in his life. Right now I can see that,your _his_ everything now. We _nakama _can't replace that.' she smiled. Lina gave her a warm smile back.

'But you know that's not true... _nakama _and love are equal in his heart.'

Just then,Natsu mumbled something. "Lucy,I wanna eat that..." Lina chuckled and stroked his cheek to calm him down. Lucy's eyes widened a bit.

"See what I mean." she smiled at her.

"Lina...stop. That tickles." he mumbled again and laughed softly in his sleep. The two girls giggled and looked at each other. Erza just quietly observed. She knew that Lucy had feelings for Natsu,she was just too dense to figure it out earlier. Lina must be helping her move on. She is a mind-reader after all,Lucy could just look at her and say a thousand words without even opening her mouth,and Lina would understand everything. She closed her eyes and smiled. She realized that this was the time for encouragement,not doubt and fear.

Natsu woke up a few moments later,still feeling dizzy but not nauseous. He opened his eyes slightly,and saw the two girls staring at him. He was like a child,blushing and shying away from view. The two giggled and tried to copy his signature goofy grin. It caused Natsu to grin as well. They were all so happy.

The two days came by rather quickly. Before they knew it,they were back to Lina's old town. They didn't go through town,though. They just went through a shorcut that led them to the Forest of Fire. After travelling for quite some time,they reached the dried up Lake of Dragon's Soul. They saw someone had removed Aqua's body,and Glaciem's ashes were nowhere to be seen. Still,the mark of their battles was there for everyone to see.

"Once we reach the end of the forest,we should take a rest." Lina suggested. "It would be a little longer than now to reach the mountain,and we need all the energy we can preserve in order to survive the tests." Everyone nodded in agreement. They reached the end of the forest quicker than they expected. They went up a small incline from the end. When they got up,they saw a small house with a chimney on the side and a huge backyard. Lina ran straight down towards the house. Natsu ran down with her. Everyone followed,cautiously watching their footsteps.

When she stopped,she smiled happily and looked at everyone.

"This is my old home." she announced. Everyone was a bit excited to see it,but they know it brings a lot of memories for her. It looks a bit rundown,considering no one has lived there eversince the Twin Dragon Slayers incident. But the inside was quite clean. A big carpet covered the floor,so you can lie down on it,a bathroom with a big bath tub,a sofa big enough to sleep on,a couple of sleeping bags,and two bedrooms,one for her,and the other for her parents.

Reading everyone's thoughts,she answered ahead of them, "I come by here every once in a while to keep it clean and provide any travelers with what they need. Here,I feel safe. I feel all the worry disappears. That's why I could never leave this place well enough alone." she smiled. "But right now," she turned to the others who are listening. "That's how I feel when I'm at Fairy Tail,when I'm with you guys." She gave them all a warm smile. The others smiled back. Natsu gave his goofy grin. Then everyone's stomach grumbled. They were hungry,of course they were! They haven't eaten anything when they left the train.

"Not to worry,guys. Follow me." She led them outside. To everyone's surprise,there were tons of trees with fruit and bushes and shrubs with food and pretty flowers outside.

"Why didn't we notice this earlier?" Lucy asked in pure amazement. Lina smiled and explained as they eat.

"This place is concealed by a magic shelter my father made. It reflects back light,making it invisible in the outside world. Many people would steal from here if it was left obvious." After that,she began eating her fill. After eating,Levy and Juvia decided to rest. They lit the fireplace and smoke came out of the chimney again. They rolled the sleeping bags in front and slept peacefully. Gajeel sat on a chair and slowly dozed away. Lucy was enjoying her time in the bath. Gray was too full to move so he was dragged by Erza saying that they should "sleep together". Wendy was sleeping on the sofa with Happy and Charles.

The only people left outside were Natsu and Lina,admiring the flowers as they talk to each other.

"What's that one called?" Natsu asked,pointing to a flower that is red and pink,with yellow streaks covering the petals. Lina smiled and looked at the flower.

"This one is my most favorite flower." she said as she picked one and placed it on her hair. "It's called _Drak'sha_,in our people's native tongue,it's called Dragon's Maiden. My father brood it just for me. At first,I didn't know why he made it. But now I guess he knew about the prophecy back then and decided to make something special for me."

Natsu saw tears forming in her eyes. He gently wiped one of her eyes with his fingers,ushering Lina to do the same with the other.

"Don't cry." Natsu said. "This is special,right? There's nothing to cry about. This is a happy moment. You should be smiling." he flashed her a big,wide smile. "Smile..."

Lina couldn't resist to smile. She flashed him the same big smile. She was laughing,and blushing now. Natsu was just chuckling and was genuinely happy for both of them.

Then they made eye contact. Onyx eyes met emerald ones. His eyes seem to sparkle in the moonlight. And her face was highlighted beautifully with the moon and the flower on her hair. He gently caressed her cheek and held her by the waist. Lina placed one hand on his chest and her arm around his neck,gently clinging to his pink hair. The moon was above them,perfectly silhouetting their shadows under them. Then slowly,their lips met,feeling the much desired warmth they seeked. Natsu nudged Lina's lower lip with his tongue,and she opened it slightly,just enough for his tongue to move in without breaking the kiss. They played inside the cave of their mouths,happily entangling with each other. It was the most perfect kiss they had ever experienced. It lasted for several minutes,without either one breaking it for much needed oxygen. They only needed each other right then,no one could seperate them.

When they let go,they looked at each other with love in their eyes. Both were panting,but still had a smile on their face. They pulled each other for a tight hug,never letting each other go for a few more minutes. When they got inside,they so Lucy,Gray and Erza were watching them,smiling and blushing because of their romantic moment.

"Gray..." Erza mentioned.

"I know." he said. "I'm going to sleep out here,by the table with Gajeel and the others. Lucy and Erza will be at your parent's room,if that's okay." Lina nodded.

"Hey,where do I sleep?" Natsu asked,seemingly confused.

"Lina's bed is big enough for two people. It's filled with stuffed dragons and is very comfy." Erza explained. "Since you two are romantically inseperable,why don't you two share a bed tonight?"

"Sounds good to me." Lina said as she hugged Natsu. He pulled her closer to him and she leaned on his chest.

"Alright." Natsu said,blushing. "S-see you guys in the morning." Just before entering her room,Erza called Natsu again.

"Natsu,try not to make too much noise tonight. Everyone needs their rest." she whispered. He blushed further with embarrassment. Erza was like a sister to Natsu,always there for him,and him always there for her. Nothing really changed,even with his new objective in life.

They went inside Lina's room. It's filled with stuffed dragons with different sizes and color. Although one stuffed Dragon stood out. It was red with a pink curl on top. Natsu went near it and touched it.

"You like it?" He turned around and saw Lina smiling. He nodded.

She giggled. "I thought so. Igneel gave it to me. He gave it to me the night before they had disappeared." Natsu took it all in,not wanting himself to cry.

"I cried every night after hearing they've gone. It just felt so wrong without them. They've become a part of me. I didn't want them to leave. That dragon was the only present he gave to me. Eversince their disappearance,I've been protective of that dragon. The others were just gifts from the townspeople who traveled a long way just to give it to me." she smiled as she remembered everyone's happy faces when she accepted the dolls.

"You and I..." Natsu said,calling Lina's attention. He held her hands desperately and he was tearing up. "You and I are always being left alone by that stupid dragon..." he chuckled softly. She giggled and led him to bed.

The bed was soft and comfy,you could probably melt in the warmth. Lina snuggled up on Natsu's chest,his arm providing her support. Her hands felt comfortable on the Dragon Slayer's stomach as she rubbed them gently. He wrapped his other arm on her and hugged her even tighter. There was nothing that can go between them. All through the night the slept peacefully and happily.

* * *

**Rate and Review please! I don't know when I will update again,but please...**

**Review! XD**


	16. Illusion Mountain

_Sorry... I didn't update in a while,but I also didn't want to update because I wanted to see how many reviews I would get... But never mind about that... Though I reeally need your feedback... ^_^ Thanks a lot! Here is Chapter 16~!_

* * *

**Chapter 16:**

**Illusion Mountain**

The sun rose with a spectacular shine. Lina,Natsu and Erza were already awake before dawn. They watched the sunrise together,like a family. A few minutes later,everyone else was starting to wake up.

"Hey,Natsu..." Gray said with a yawn. "You two-timing...bastard...hitting on Erza..." his mouth was open so Erza knuckle went through. He choked on himself but recovered a little later.

"Alright everyone," Lina called out. "Happy and Charles can fly past the mountain's magical range. Who doesn't want to go through the test?" she asked with concern. Wendy raised her hand,to which of course everyone would know,and Lucy,too.

"Aww," Natsu whined. "What's wrong Lucy? Afraid of a little spider?" He laughed but that quickly ended with a red hand-print in his face.

"Knowing you,you'd probably go insane." Lucy huffed. "But...be careful... Alright?" Natsu nodded and rubbed his cheek. Lina smiled at the two.

"The rest are okay?" she asked. Everyone else nodded. "Good. We're leaving now. Meet back outside." The group went outside as Lina and Erza cleaned up.

"Let's head out. Those Slayers X must still be at the base of the mountain. It's divided into two for testing purposes. You run to a bridge when you pass the 1st test."

"Alright!" Natsu yelled. "I'm all fired up. Let's go!" Everyone cheered with him. They treked up numerous hills before reaching the base of the mountain. It was already passed noon when they got there. And the sun was freaking hot!

"Here we are." Lina said before stopping. The rest fell back and stopped. The mountain was divided into two from the top. It was rather a small mountain,but bigger than a hill. No sign of the Slayers X guild. Have they already made it through? Shaking the thought out of her head,she explained further.

"The first test is discipline,meaning knowing how to follow rules. When you walk inside the mountain,you will be engulfed in fog and will hear a voice that will explain the rules to you. Then a vision will appear in front of you. If you manage to obey the rules without protest,the vision will fade and you'll be transported halfway through the mountain."

"Follow rules? That's it?" Natsu huffed. Lina gently bopped his nose and he back away a little.

"Rules have to be obeyed at all times,right Natsu-kun~?" she giggled. Natsu blushed at what she meant. "And rules can change your advantage too." Lina warned. "Don't underestimate this mountain." Natsu nodded his head nervously.

"Everyone will wait for each other at the halfway point. Happy,Charles,get the two out of here now. And don't let the fog touch you. Once you see trouble at the end of the mountain,just voice out your thoughts through your minds. I'll be able to hear that." The cats nodded. "You two,be careful out there,okay?" she said and smiled. The two girls smiled with determination in their eyes. Then they left and went ahead.

"Ready?" Lina shouted. "Go!" Everyone ran inside the mountain,and fog quickly surrounded them. In almost an instant they were out of sight.

* * *

_**Above the mountain...**_

"I wonder if they'll be alright?" Lucy wondered. "I mean,if you can fly to avoid the mountain,can't you carry them all?"

"Of course not." Charles scolded. "Our powers are enough for a round trip. So even if we do get back,we won't be able to carry another one in more than a day. We'd be wasting time."

"Oh..." the blondie sighed. "I'm sorry." Charles just nodded symphatetically.

"They'll be fine,Lucy." Happy said above her. Wendy held her hand to comfort her.

"Yeah... I'm sure now! They'll be fine." she said with enthusiasm.

* * *

_**Back at the mountain...**_

Lina was the first person to come out of the fog. "That was easy. Now,to wait for the others."

* * *

_**Erza...**_

"Where am I?" she asked.

"Hello,Scarlet." a warm voice said.

"Are you the mountain?" she asked abruptly. The voice hummed in reply.

"There is only one rule for you,Scarlet." the voice said. Then a vision of Jellal appeared. "Kiss him."

"Je-Jellal?" she asked. "Why him?"

"It's because that's what I saw in your heart. Are you going against the rule?" the mountain asked.

Erza hesitated but remembered Lina's warning. She leaned on the vision and kissed its lips. A moment later the vision faded and it got dark and foggy.

* * *

**General Prov:**

"Erza!" Lina cried out. "Erza stay with me..." she felt a sigh of relief as Erza woke up. "That was scary." she giggled. Erza slowly stood up and balanced herself.

"That's it?" Erza asked. Lina nodded. "Where are the others?" she asked again,looking around.

"Natsu,Gray and Juvia haven't made it back yet." Levy called in front. With her was Gajeel,smirking as usual.

"Lina here was the first person to made it out. As quickly as it started she was already here." Gajeel said,a bit envious.

Erza looked at Lina. "What did the mountain made you do?" she asked. She blushed a bit,then she leaned onto her ear and whispered something.

"It wanted me to..." Erza became flushed in an instant. Lina laughed a bit.

"W-what? It made you do such an embarrassing task?" Erza was taken back by this. Lina gave a cheerful nod.

"Though I wouldn't worry about that. Only Natsu was in the vision,and he sees a lot of that." she giggled again. Levy blushed furiously and Gajeel just laughed.

They waited for 5 minutes,until Gray showed up.

"Gray." Erza called out. He turned to her with a bit of anger and humiliation in his eyes. She patted his back to calm him down.

"This...mountain is...evil!" Gray exclaimed. Lina and the others tilted their heads.

"What did the mountain make you do?" she asked. Gray glared at her. She stepped back.

"It made me..." Gray began. " me and Natsu to k..."

"K...?" the others said. Lina read his thought because he wasn't gonna talk much. Her eyes widened and she tried to hold back a laugh. But in the end,she laughed so hard,she tripped on the ground.

"Lina?" asked a concerned Levy.

"What's so funny?" Erza asked. Lina made them come closer. She whispered what she saw in Gray's mind. A few seconds later they laughed again. Gray was too ashamed to fight back and protest.

"I don't think it was just Natsu!" Lina cried out laughing.

"I can't believe that you did it!" Levy said and continued to laugh. Gajeel raised a brow at the now irritating bunch.

"Gray," Erza placed a hand on his shoulder,still blushing. "Don't worry! I'll teach you things that can get even the strongest wizard!" Then she laughed again.

"Stop it!" Gray yelled,still ashamed. "Shut up!"

"What's so damn funny anyway?" Gajeel interrupted. Levy came over near his ear and whispered something. There were a few seconds of silence. Then Gajeel broke out to laughter,which was followed by the girls.

"I can't... I can't... believe it!" Gajeel found it hard to talk while laughing. Gray just slumped himself.

Lina came over and leaned on his shoulder. "Oh come,on Gray. It's not embarrassing to make you.." she tried to hold back a laugh. "KISS NATSU!" then she burst again.

"Yes,it is!" Gray outraged. The others were still laughing.

"And since you always fight Natsu half-naked..." Erza mentions.

"...That's almost like rough sex!" Levy finishes.

Lina hummed for a moment. "I think Natsu's not gonna hear the end of this." she chuckled.

"It's more of making-out than a kissing!" Gajeel was wheezing because he was laughing too hard. Then a burst of water hit Gajeel's face.

"Oh,Juvia..." everyone said. Juvia seemed calm when she got out,but then her eyes went furious.

"What vision did you have?" Lina asked.

"Where is Gray-sama?" she asked,instead of answering the question. The others pointed at him. She glared at Gray.

"Gray-sama..." she said darkly. "...Are you...gay?" Then the group burst into laughter again.

"Why,Juvia? Why ask that?" Levy asked while wiping the tears of her face.

"Juvia's vision was clear!" she exclaimed. "The mountain made Juvia see Gray-sama marrying Natsu! It forced Juvia to watch and say 'good luck in your honeymoon~'. Gray-sama! Are. you. gay?" she asked louder this time. They broke out into louder laughs this time.

"That's not true,Juvia! I'm as straight as an arrow." Gray tried to shout.

"Prove it." It was short and simple. Everyone stopped laughing.

"What?" Gray asked.

"Juvia wants Gray-sama to kiss Juvia romantically to prove he is straight. Juvia must also feel the poking in the pants!" She exclaims.

"Ooohh~" Lina cooed. "You think you can handle that,Gray?"

"That's a really tough challenge for someone who lost the ability to be turned on by girls." Gajeel smirked.

Gray glared at him for a moment,then stared at Juvia's almost crying eyes. He was blushing furiously now. He quickly grabbed Juvia's head and slammed it into his. The contact was harsh and quick,but it adjusted to something more warm and comforting. Then Juvia felt a hardness poking her leg. She let go for a moment,and Gray pulled her back. She was blushing like crazy now. They let go a little later.

"You are right." Juvia whispered. "Gray-sama is straight!" She hugged him tight.

"Awww..." the girls whined. Gajeel just looked away,disgusted.

"So much for our fantasies..." Levy said. Erza nodded. Lina agreed.

"Hey,has anyone seen Natsu?" Lina asked,now concerned.

"Come to think of it,no..." Erza said.

"He must still be inside the fog!" Levy pointed out. Lina stared blankly at the fog.

"Natsu..."

* * *

_**Natsu...**_

"What is this place?" Natsu asked himself as he walked around. Everything was black. He couldn't hear anything,couldn't see and smell.

"What a weird place." he thought to himself.

"Yes,it is..." a voice in his mind spoke out.

"Huh?" Natsu jolted back a bit. "Who are you?"

"I'm you..." the voice said.

"Oh really?" Natsu questioned. "Then can you find me a way out of here?"

"Of course I can." the voice answered.

"Really?" he asked in excitement.

"Yes..." the voice hissed. "But you must follow one rule..."

* * *

_**Normal...**_

It had been 15 minutes since they asked where Natsu was.

"That's it!" Lina said,while forcing herself to get up. "I'm looking for him."

"No,Lina. It's not safe. You told us that..." Erza ordered.

"But..." Lina whined.

"He'll be fine,Lina." Levy assured. "He'll get through this on his own."

"I hope you're right,Levy."

* * *

_**Natsu...**_

"What rule might that be?" he asked arrogantly.

"You must..." then suddenly a vision of Lina was shown to him. "... Kill her."

"What?" Natsu roared. "Are you out of your mind?"

'Natsu!' she yelled.

"Lina?" he called. "Where are you!"

"I've passed the test. You need to follow the rule or you can't get out!"

"But..." he said hesitantly.

"It's alright,Natsu." she said calmly.

"Okay..." he said. He walked to the vision and closed his eyes. "...Sorry." he whispered,then punched the vision straight in the heart. He was shaking afterwards.

* * *

_**Normal...**_

A minute later,Natsu came out of the fog and fell on his knees. Lina caught him just in time.

"Natsu!" she cried out. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine..." he groaned. "I'm so sorry,I..." he was cut off when she kissed his lips to stop him from shaking.

"It's fine." she smiled.

"Is everyone else here?" Lina made him look at the spot they were. Everyone else was safe and accounted for.

"Now for the second test..." she said as she helped Natsu up.

* * *

_**At the end of the mountain...**_

"Finally we made it!" Lucy said as she was brought down to the ground. Happy and Charles were tired and needed to rest. Wendy noticed that they are not alone.

"Lucy,who are those people?" Wendy asked as she pointed from afar. Lucy looked and quickly grabbed Wendy and the Exceeds and hid behind a large rock.

"Who are they?" she asked herself. "We need to keep quiet. We can't be caught."

"Okay,but who are they?"

"Slayers X..." Charles said.

"That's right!" a voice said. They turned around to see a man in a hood with a black dragon tattoo.

"Oh no..." Wendy said. Before the man could do anything,Lucy grabbed the man by the waist with her whip and lashed him away from them. The other hooded men saw this and went to catch them.

"We need to fight! Or at least try not to get caught by these creeps!" Lucy exclaimed,then she pulled one of her Golden Keys.

"Gate of The Bull I open thee!..."

"Taurus!"

* * *

_cliffy... xD_

_anyway... Please send me feedback on what you think of the story..._

_Thank you for everyone who subscribed to the story and added it and me to their favorites! I love 'ya!_


	17. Alexandris Draconem

**Chapter 17:**

**Alexandris Draconem**

_**At the end of the Mountain...**_

Lucy has summoned Taurus to try and hold their ground.

"Moo!" he yowled. "I will protect miss Lucy's precious body!" with that,he charged towards the hooded men,easily knocking out a number of them.

"Charles," Wendy called as she ran towards the Exceeds. "You need to tell Lina that we're in trouble."

"Your right. Wendy,go help Lucy fight." Charles said. Wendy nodded and followed through.

"Roar of the Sky Dragon!" she roared,sending many flying away.

"Good job,Wendy!" Lucy said. "Looks like we can hold out..."

"Not so fast..." they turned around to know the source of the voice.

_**Back at the Mountain...**_

Lina intercepts a telepathic message from Charles and Happy.

"Guys,Lucy and Wendy encountered a large number of Slayers X members! We have to hurry." The others looked serious and nodded.

"Let's go!" Natsu yelled as they ran to the bridge. An instant later they all vanished.

_**At the end of the Mountain...**_

This time,Erza was the first one to get out,along with Gajeel and Juvia.

"Fear was nothing!" Gajeel yelled. Then they saw that Lucy and an unconscious Wendy were surrounded by a large number of those hooded men. And the one with blonde hair in a knight's armor is currently fighting Virgo and Leo.

"Is that all you got,Celestial Spirit Wizard?" the knight said as he brushed off Leo's attack and Virgo's ambush. They both fell to the ground in front of Lucy.

"I'm...sorry,princess." Virgo said as she returned to the Spirit World.

"Virgo!" she yelled. Then she looked to Loke. "Loke!" Lucy cried out as he tried to stand up again. "Can you still fight?"

"I'm sorry,Lucy. No. I need to return." Lucy nodded. "I'm really sorry." then he vanished as well.

"What a pity." the knight said. Lucy glared at him. The knight took a step back,but walked towards her slowly. She grabbed her whip and launched it at the enemy,but it snapped because of the sharpness of the sword.

"Time to say good bye,Celestial Spirit Wizard..." Lucy shut her eyes,fearing the worst. Suddenly an explosion was heard near them. She looked around to see that it was Gajeel,maniacally laughing while defeating the enemies. Then Erza showed up to attack the knight with her Heaven's Wheel Armor. Juvia came to Lucy and Wendy to make an escape.

"Ahh... Fairy Tail's Titania,eh?" Erza raised a brow,and broke the tension between their swords as she stepped back.

"Who are you?" she said as she pointed a sword at him. The man merely laughed and placed a hand above his head.

"Me? I am Alexandris Draconem. Guild Master of Slayers X!" he exclaimed. "Now,you,Titania,shall die!" He charged forward to Erza and their fight began.

"Water Dome!" Juvia covered their resting area where Lucy and Wendy are. "Not to worry,Juvia will protect you from them."

"Thank you,Juvia." Lucy said. "Where are Natsu and the others?" Juvia shook her head.

"They are not here. They must still be inside the mountain. But do not be afraid,they will be out soon." Juvia smiled. So did Lucy and Wendy.

Gajeel finished off most of the men now,and he wants to help Erza in the fight. She was really struggling to keep up with this guy. He was fast. Really fast. He could dodge most of Erza's attacks and hit her between the spaces. Just as she was about to be pierced in the head,Gajeel comes in and blocked it with his Iron pole.

"Can I cut in?" he smirked. Alexandris frowned and jumped back. Gajeel helped Erza recover and stand.

"Alright,Gajeel. Are you ready?" He smirked and nodded. "GO!"

_**Back at the Mountains...**_

Lina read the others' minds. "Good...it seems like the others have-" she gasped as she read Erza's mind. "That name...it couldn't be! I have to get out of here!" She searched the fog for any visions. Then the fog became clear.

Her intuition was right. She saw her dream. Her dream,no,a nightmare that Natsu was leaving her and asking her to kill herself. If she hadn't dreamed of this before,she would've really killed herself. It was too much emotional pressure on her. Then she felt a warm hand placed on her shoulder.

"Natsu?" she said as she was beginning to tear up.

"Don't cry. Your safe now." Natsu smiled. Lina nodded and hugged him tight.

Levy's vision,on the other hand,was a bit surprising. In her vision,she saw Lucy never became an author and moved away from Magnolia. Of course it's sad,but what a lame excuse for scary. This was a really weird mountain. She sighed and rubbed her temple. This was gonna be easy,and she got worked up for this?

Gray was having a hard time dealing with his. He was up on a stage,hands tied behind his back,feet shackled to the floor,so he can't turn around. Then a curtain was lifted in front of him. He saw a large crowd laughing at him. He then realized that he wasn't wearing anything. And they could clearly see his *bussiness* under there. He was so scared and so humiliated that he wailed out in anger.

"What kind of sick trick is this?" he wailed out. He tried to calm down as best as he can so he could get out of this humiliating nightmare.

_**At the Ruins of the Dragons...**_

Erza and Gajeel were already wounded. Gajeel had a large cut across his face,even with his iron scales. Erza had thin,long cuts from her stomach to her arms and legs. They were both panting and bleeding. Alexandris remained unaffected,even with their combined efforts.

"This guy's tough." Gajeel said while panting.

Erza glared at Alexandris,who simply smirked. "We have to keep fighting!" she said as she ran towards him again.

Levy finally got out of the mountains,along with the other three. They all saw the two's struggle against the sole man.

"Levy! You go check on Lucy and the others. We'll fight with Erza." Lina said. Levy nodded.

"Lina,go with her." Natsu said. Lina just shook her head. "Lina,go!"

"No! I can help too,Natsu. And how am I supposed to prove that if I watch behind the sidelines all the time?" she said then pouted.

Natsu leaned against her and kissed her. "You can do it by not dying. Now go!" Lina was about to protest when the two lunged toward the fight.

"How annoying..." she sighed. She used her psychic powers to levitate rocks from the ground and hit Alexandris. Natsu turned around to see Lina caused the rocks to move. She kept pounding and pounding more rocks into Alexandris,but he slices them in half with his sword.

"Ice Make: Lance!" A flurry of icy lances charged towards him. He narrowly dodged it,but he was hit in the foot by one. Just before he could look to see who made that attack,a fiery fist was thrown at him like a ton of bricks. He flew back and was headed for a stone wall. Just then,Erza shows up with her Giant's Armor and sent him flying the opposite direction. After that,Lucy was surprised to see Virgo again as she emerged from the ground to punch Alexandris high into the air,wink at her,then disappears. Gajeel used his Demon's Pulse attack to tear of his armor. Afterwards,Lina used her psychic powers again to make Alexandris stay in midair.

"Guys! Use your Triple Roar attack!" she yelled. Wendy got up her feet and joins Natsu and Gajeel. They charged up their powers and blew the force of fire,wind and metal into their roars. Alexandris wouldn't have escaped that since he was being gripped by Lina mentally. No one wasted any time at all,they kept attacking him until they couldn't anymore. Then they heard him laughing.

"Is that all youv'e got?" He asked arrogantly. His armor was destroyed,leaving him only in clothing,but his wounds weren't that great at all. He seemed unaffected by all their attacks. "You filthy scum are annoying. I need to finish you off to get the stone."

"I'm not gonna let you have it!" Alexandris turned around to find Lina standing.

"Oh,if it isn't a Sakurano brat." he spat. "My,your generation has gotten weaker than before,haven't you?" he laughed.

"Alexandris!" she yelled as she threw more rocks at him. He dodged them all,actually. "Why are you still here? Your'e supposed to be dead!"

"My,my,how rude you are. Your silly forefathers only won because I let them,so I could start a guild in hiding. And that,my dear,is Slayers X!" He then let out a cackle and charged towards Lina. She was about to dodge,but flinched and tripped over. She could just watch as she was about to die. Then suddenly a flaming fist punched Alexandris and sent him flying again.

"Natsu!" she called out. He went to her and helped her up.

"I told you to just watch." Natsu growled.

"You can't boss me around! Not outside of bed." she whined,then winced,surprised she just said that. She was carried off by Natsu and were brought to Juvia and the others.

"Natsu!" she yelled again,but this time he was too focused on deciding how to kill the one who almost murdered his mate. He quietly observed him get back up on his feet and dusted himself.

"What are you staring at,boy?" he sneered.

"Shut up." Natsu growled. Alexandris frowned a bit,but chuckled a little later.

"You think you can scare me,boy?" he laughed. "I lived over 500 years now,and you think that's gonna intimidate me?"

Natsu smirked at the man. Alexandris took a step back,but before he could make a move,he was punched face-first by Natsu.

"He's fast!" Lina gawked. Natsu kept punching and punching him,satisfied by every cracking noise he hears. With one final blow,he crashed him into a wall,and he coughed up blood.

"Those 500 years aren't gonna be enough to save you from me,old man." Natsu smirked. He cracked his knuckles as he was going to deal the final blow. Then he saw the man grin. An evil grin. All of a sudden,light engulfed his entire body,and when the light faded,he was good as new.

"Wha..." Lina's eyes widened. "How did you learn that?" she yelled.

"Oh? That's easy. I stole it from your grandparents. They never were good with their memory." he pointed to his head and laughed even more.

"You...you..." she whispered. "You have to die!" she outraged as threw a big boulder in his direction. He quickly jumped above and avoided it,only to be hit by Natsu again.

"Lina stay out of this." Natsu growled. "He's mine." His predatory eyes were more than enough to calm her down.

Alexandris dusted himself again. He merely laughed again,which really ticked Natsu off. "What's so damn funny?" Natsu roared.

"You are..." he pointed. "You think you can defeat me? Hah! Rubbish. Now I will show you my true power!" he glowed a black dark aura around him. After it faded,he was wearing no armor,but his sword was as big as a lance.

"Prepare yourself!" he yelled as he charged toward Natsu.

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_Hey~! So,what do you think? XD_

___Sorry if I haven't updated in a while,although it's only been 5 days.. o.O go figure..._

_RnR please! Thank you so much again for those who put me and this story on author and story alert! I feel so loved! :3_

_Any who,hope you like it! ^_^_


	18. If I Lost Her

****_Thank you everyone for those who have read and reviewed my stories! And the faves and alerts,too! Here is chapter 18!_

_Oh yeah. I'll be putting Disclaimers for my one-shot stories because,damn it! I can't get sued! XD Anyway, I don't own scrap from Fairy Tail! Enjoy!_

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**Chapter 18:**

**If I Lost Her**

Natsu braced himself and prepared to dodge the unseemingly fast attack. He dodged it swiftly,and since it was a big sword he was sure it was heavy. After dodging the swing,he jumped on the blade and run towards him. He ignited his fist and punched him in the face,breaking his nose in the process,with a few fallen teeth and a swollen cheek. He didn't hold back to the person who can heal himself over and over again.

"Annoying brat..." was Alexandris' words before he was swallowed by a barrage of kicks and punches,still feeling every bit of pain of his cracking bones. After his barrage,Natsu found Alexandris limp and almost all his limbs were dislocated. Again,the knight chuckled as he heal himself.

"Fool..." Natsu said before pounding his face to the dirt again. He never stopped until he was weak and limpy that he had to heal himself,then it was back to the same old antics.

"You're an idiot,you know that,boy?" Alexandris chuckled out. "You know I can heal myself,yet you ignore that fact anyway. Why is that? Too stupid to understand a hopeless situation?" Then he laughed. Natsu just smirked at him and stepped on his head,hard enough to send it into the dirt.

"Your the idiot here,Alexandris." he said. "That form of magic maybe effective on healing and restoration,but what good is that if you can't even hit me?" Alexandris' eyes widened at the realization.

"You see,even if you change your weapon,you can't even swing it properly. And to top that off,that healing magic uses a great amount of magic. So while I beat you up relentlessly,and you keep healing yourself,you'll find yourself in a hopeless situation where you have no magic and your body is beaten beyond recognition. And I'll be happy to end your misery." he grinned a bit evily. "But before then,I can have fun tossing you around!" he said as he kicked Alexandris' head out of the ground and into the sky. He dropped his sword and Natsu took it out of the battlefield.

Erza and Gray gawked at his ability to deduce enemy weaknesses and create counter strategies. It's almost inhumane. Meanwhile,Lina was thinking of a way to help her friends. She kept looking around and saw some more hooded men carrying what appears to be charms and seals. Thinking that it has something to do with the stone,she knocked them out mentally but one,whom she forcefully pulled to her side. She gripped his robe and struck glaring eyes at the man. He was scared to the point where he had to pee.

"Tell me..." Lina ordered. "Are those things you were carrying part of the dimension door's spell seal?" the man did not answer. He fainted. Lina sweat dropped and read his mind instead. She was right,they were trying to remove the dimesion door's seal. There were only a few left,but why wait another week? Is it because of precaution or pure laziness? She didn't care now. They found the stone.

"Guys," she called them. "I found the stone. I'm gonna go and see what I can do."

"Wait,Lina!" she turned around to see Gray. She raised a brow to ask him what was wrong. "I'll come with you." he said. "You'll need all the help you can get if you're going to protect that stone."

"Thanks for the offer Gray," she said. "But I have to decline. Since I won't be protecting the stone... I'll be destroying it." Gray couldn't respond immediately and he was too late to stop her. Still,he went after her. Natsu saw Lina leaving and got distracted for a moment,which gave Alexandris time to escape.

'I can't beat him now...' Alexandris thought to himself. 'I'll just kill the Sakurano brat and be done with it.' He was about to sneak out when Natsu landed almost on top of him.

"Where do you think your going?" he asked as he picked him up and pummeled him again.

Meanwhile,Gray and Lina saw more hooded men near the stone's dimesion door. They quickly knocked them out,though. Gray was thinking it was a bad idea to destroy the stone. Lina overhears it.

"Gray I know what you're thinking and trust me,it's the only way." Lina said,interrupting his train of thought.

"This is wrong Lina! you're gonna give up your family's heritage because of some low-life?" he outraged. Lina let out a small sigh.

"He's going to live forever if we don't destroy the stone. So even if we stop him now,he'll return when we're all dead. Just like the last time..." she went silent,but continued with her plan. She was removing the seal easily. In a matter of minutes,there were only a third of the original size left.

"Stop,you old creep!" They heard Natsu getting near them. They saw he was chasing Alexandris and his now well-known speed. "Get back here so I can pummel you again!" he roared. Still he did not stop. He kept running and running until he reached a safe melee on Lina. He learned how to use telekenesis and lifted his blade up. He aimed it at Lina's stomach. He did not want her to die instantly,he wants her to suffer like he did,re-healing her wounds then jabbing her again. He threw the sword at full speed. Natsu finally caught the old man,but he was smiling.

"Yes,kill me now,Dragon boy! But let's see how you fare without your friend." he laughed sadistically. He heard a blood-curdling scream from Lina and a yelling Gray.

* * *

He looked up,and saw Lina got stabbed with the giant blade in the stomach. Gray was cursing and blaming himself aloud while helping her remove the blade and numbed the wound. Enough so he could apply pressure. He quickly removed the blade,since taking it slow will damage her even more. She wailed in pain,but that didn't stop him. He used his powers to numb her wounds and temporarily stop the bleeding. He then used his shirt to tie a tight bandage on her stomach. Then he carried her all the way back to Wendy so she could heal her.

Natsu was outraged. He wanted to kill the old fart he was sitting on so bad! But he can't die because he's not out of magic and he keeps healing himself. His anger turned into worry as he saw Wendy struggling to heal her wounds.

"I've managed to close the hole on her back. God that sounded so wrong!" Wendy wailed while trying to heal Lina.

"We need to hurry! At this rate,she's gonna die of blood loss. And if she dies,Natsu might blame himself and take his own life." Gray said. Everyone was doing their best to help Wendy,even give her some of their magic. But there was no time,and Lina was getting paler by the second. Lucy and Levy started to cry when this happened. Erza was punching the ground,struggling not to cry as well. Gray was glaring at the old man.

"Natsu!" Gray called out. "Kill that coot now! She's gonna be fine. We'll do everything we can to help." But of course that was a lie. Her pulse was now slowing down,and her body was getting limp,cold and pale. Wendy couldn't think of anymore ways to help her now. Her wound was healed,but she hasn't recovered from shock. That could kill her. Lina needed blood,lots of it. Wendy gave her the medicine that she used before. Through a massive stroke of luck,it stabilized her,restoring an adequate amount of blood within her.

"She's gonna be fine!" Wendy cried out in happiness. Gray grinned happily and shouted at Natsu.

"Hey flame-brain!" he called out again. "Told 'ya she's gonna be fine! Don't worry." Natsu smirked at that and he punched Alexandris in the face.

"You know what I would've done if I lost her?" he growled at Alexandris. "I would kill you more times than you ever lived in your miserable life,old man. I will burn you to a crisp,let yourself heal,then beat you up again! She's more than a friend to me and I almost lost her because of you! And now,you'll pay." His body literally lit up on fire. The fire forming a shape of a Dragon. His fire went down on him like a steel tower a hundred times over. He was burnt into charcoal. Natsu thought he would never come back,so he went to the others to check on Lina.

"How is she?" he asked in worry. Wendy smiled a brief smile and went back to restoring her. She suffered shock after all,and she had to repair some of the organs that got hit. And she had to make sure she is recovering well.

"She's gonna be fine,Natsu." Gray assured. "She suffered from shock,but we've restored some of her blood already,so no need to worry."

While she was being healed,she suddenly blew her eyes open,sat up straight,and cringed in the pain. Still,nobody stopped her,since she can heal herself. Except,this time,she's not.

"Natsu,hurry!" she exclaimed,still cringing in the pain. "You need to... destroy the stone. Now!" she yelled and couldn't take it anymore. She laid straight and she hissed at the pain inside her stomach.

"Lina I..." Natsu tried to form a sentence,but he couldn't. That order was obsulete. He knew it. It's the way she spoke. Moments later,he found that he and Gray were running towards the seal.

They reached the sealed door. He saw that it was big. Really big,but have no idea how to start removing the seal.

"Try burning it. Maybe it's vurnurable to fire." Gray suggested. He tried,much to his luck it worked,but only in a slow pace. They tried to speed things up but the seal is strong against fire,so they have to wait.

A little later,Natsu saw movement from where he burnt the old creep. His eyes widened and hung his mouth open. Gray joins him in shock when they saw the man who was just burned alive,healthy as ever and stood up on his own two feet,and cackle wildly.

"You honestly believed you had a chance,huh? This time for sure,you die!" A wind-like barrage threatens to attack them. Gray has already run out of magic,and Natsu's too busy to counterattack.

* * *

"Lina stop!" Wendy yelled. Then Natsu's eyes widened even more. Lina stood in front of them,body not recovered. She took on the full hit of the wind strike,there were cuts all over her body,and it didn't seem to stop,even slow down. She groaned a bit in pain then smirked. With all her power,she managed to lift Alexandris into the air,and literally tore him in half. His organs splattered everywhere and blood rained down like a monsoon. Wendy,Lucy,Levy and Juvia almost vomitted when they saw everything. Lina threw his bodies far away from each other. But the wind still didn't stop.

"Natsu!" she said as she groaned in pain. "Destroy the stone. Now! He'll die if you destroy it. I just managed to slow him down. Now hurry!"

Natsu couldn't believe his ears. What he saw happened was certainly no one could survive from. And Lina's saying his just being slowed down? He's a freak! He knew he had to end this,no matter what. He maybe weak,but he's immortal! They can't win unless they destroy the stone.

"Natsu!" Gray called out. "The seal's gone! We can go inside." They were about to step in to see if there were real dragons or not,but the stone just shot out of the door and floated up in the air. It was huge. Bigger than a town. They really didn't want to know why it was floating because there was no time to waste.

Without hesitation,Natsu ignited his hands on fire. He jumped in the air and the flames in his hands became fireballs.

"Fire Dragon: Brilliant Flame!" he yelled as he combined the fire from his hands and threw it at the stone. The fireball broke through the middle of the stone and the stone caved in,destroying it whole. As the stone disappeared,Alexandris' body turned to dust along with his blood and internal organs. Lina was free from the wind spell but still floated in the sky.

"Yeah! We did it!" Natsu yelled happily. "Hey,Lina! Why are you still up there?" he asked. He heard no response. A few seconds later she screamed in pain when a new hole emerged from her stomach,this time the blood rained down on Natsu,who was shocked and wide eyed. She quickly fell after this and Natsu caught her in his arms.

"L-Lina..." he whispered. She was breathing,but her body wasn't moving at all. Even breathing didn't help it move. He had to find someone who can heal her,fast! Wendy couldn't do it because she's exhausted. And he couldn't do anything about it.

"What if I lose her?" he asked aloud. Gray heard this and came running to him. "Gray,what if I lose her? No one can help us now. Wendy's exhausted and we're too far away in town. What should we do? I can't lose her! I can't!" he said as he bit his lower lip,trying not to cry. He held onto Lina desperately,like it was his most priceless possession and it was about to be taken from him. "It's all my fault..." he said.

Gray feared about this. That if Natsu won't calm down,he'll be traumatized and likely go suicidal.

"Natsu,you need to calm down..." he said in an attempt to calm him down.

"No,I won't! It's all my fault. I destroyed the stone and it caused her pain,too. If I would've found another way,she wouldn't have to be like this!" Suddenly Gray punched him in the face,enough so he can be blown back a few steps. Natsu glared at him,and Gray smirked.

"You need to calm down. We can help her. You said that there were dragons through that door,so why not find Wendy's foster parent and make her heal Lina?" Gray suggested.

Natsu finally calmed down and tried to clean her wounds with his supplies and replace the bandage lost. He looked through the door. It was dark. Nothing can be seen from there. They have to go in. Everyone else was following them. Wendy tries to close her wound bit by bit,but she was getting exhausted again. So they had no choice. They had to enter the cave/door in order to save Lina. It was a long tunnel inside. They walked for a while,then they finally saw light. When they got outside,they were definitely in for a surprise.

"This is..." Natsu gagged.

"No way." Lucy said in disbelief.

"This is...impossible!" Erza gasped.

"We're in..."

* * *

_That's what? Where are they? Can anyone guess? XD Oh woe is me! Who will save Lina in this situation! I'm just messin' with 'ya peoples!_

_Anyway, Review please! If possible point out mistakes,give tips, and try to guess where they are... XD_


	19. Edolas and Possessive Natsu

_Chapter 19! I hope you get to enjoy it! We'll be side-tracking from the original story of Hunting Dragons to here,in Edolas! But it's just a few chaps,so don't worry! Anyways,I hope you enjoy this chapter and leave your reviews,comments,etc. Also,point out any mistakes that you see,okay? Except for the comma,cause that's what I'm used to. :P_

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**Chapter 19:**

**Edolas and Possessive Natsu**

* * *

"I can't believe this!" Gray exclaimed. "We're back in Edolas! A place with no magic! How are supposed to help Lina,now?"

The group has travelled inside the cave that was said to be inhabited by Dragons. They found out,much to their disappointment,that they were just sent back to the place where magic was basically non-existent. Edolas,the parallel world wherein they had their own Fairy Tail,but no magic. They couldn't use magic there as well.

Everyone was silent,still,she's holding up pretty well despite her condition. She was still smiling,and it provided them with the much needed encouragement,ironic for them actually.

"Edolas?" Juvia asked. "Juvia wants to see Gray-sama's double right away!" She had a blush on her cheeks.

"Not now,Juvia." Erza said sternly. "Right now,we need to help Lina. Anyone have any ideas?"

"Ooh..." Gajeel cooed as he thought of an idea. He walked over to Levy,who was carrying her small bag. He asked her to give it to her,but she rambled about how a girl's bag was supposed to be personal. But he didn't care,he grabbed it and searched the bag. Then he smiled,he brought Levy the bag back and thanked her. In his hand,was a bottle filled with red small balls.

"I've forgotten about these." Gajeel smirked. "These are the leftover x-balls that Mystogan gave to us back then. We can use this so Wendy can recover magic and heal Lina." Everyone gawked in amazement.

"Gajeel,you thought of that by yourself?" Erza asked. Gajeel smiled and rubbed the back of his head while nodding. Erza then gave him a tight,one armed hug that almost squeezed his eyes out.

"Good job!" she said as she let Gajeel go. "Now we need to find some shelter." Erza said as she looked around. Everyone followed her,since they really need to find a town at least to help Lina. Natsu had a tight grip around her,while looking and smelling for any traces of people. Then to everyone's surprise, Erza fell into a hole.

"Kyaa~!" she squealed. Everyone thought it was cute,even Gajeel. Then a woman in a black outfit showed up and examined the hole.

"Erza?" the woman asked as she helped her get up. "What're you doing here? I thought you couldn't get back to Edolas before?"

* * *

They all saw her face. It was Edo-Lucy! Their friend from Edolas. They knew she could help,so could Edolas Fairy Tail. Natsu's eyes brightened when he saw quick hope for his mate.

"Lucy,I mean Edo-Lucy..." Natsu tried to speak.

"Stop right there." Edo-Lucy interrupted,looking at the girl in his arms. "First of all,my name is now Ashley,alright? And second,I have a professional's first aid kit back at the guild. Let's go. Judging from the blood loss,she doesn't have much time. Dragion!" She called. Then a vehicle of some-sort dashed through the thick woods of the forest.

"You called?" Dragion,formerly known as Edo-Natsu,appeared. "Whoa,they're back?" he asked as he saw the group with an unfamilliar face. A face that made him blush instantly when he looked at her.

"Let's move it!" Ashley yelled,snapping him out of it. "We found a new form of liquid that helped him get his ride back. He was going crazy when he lost it and we couldn't stand it. It's black and slick to the touch,but it's good for fuel,now get on!" Everyone went inside and Dragion drove fast to their guild.

"S-so..." Dragion started,a bit shaky. "Who's the new girl?"

"Oh..." Natsu answered. "Her name is Lina. She's my..."

"Is she like,your girlfriend or something?" Ashley interrupts. Natsu blushed,but nodded his head. Ashley blinked a few times to register what Natsu just did. Then her eyes softened as she saw Natsu's depression.

"Don't worry,Natsu." she assured him. "We'll help however we can. We owe you at least that much." He smiled at her and quickly looked back at Lina. It only took them about half an hour to get to the guild. They headed straight for the infirmary,Dragion headed to the guild's garage,parked his car,and ran straight to the infirmary.

Ashley and Edo-Mira were stitching the hole in her stomach. She wasn't yelling or screaming in pain,she was peaceful. A very bad sign. After the operation,Wendy gave her another piece of the medicine that did the trick. As usual,it worked miracles and her blood was restored adequately. Wendy healed her a bit so as to make sure the wound doesn't accidentally reopen when she wakes up.

"She should be fine from here on..." Ashley said.

"Um...Ashley-san," Dragion spoke shyly. "Can I take a look at her?" Ashley thought it was weird,since he doesn't usually like to see people after operations,but nodded anyways. Dragion looked at her face. Her ever so peaceful face.

"She's your," he gulped, "...girlfriend,"Me-san?" Natsu nodded. "Oh..." Oh? Dragion never doubted anyone's words before,let alone get depressed because of the answer. She didn't bother about it for now. Their sole focus was to see that girl get better.

"I'm surprised you didn't hurl when your inside a mode of transportation,Natsu." Ashley said. Natsu just nodded silently. "It's because of her,isn't it?" He nodded again. Dragion was a bit amazed at that. She could stop Natsu's motion-sickness without using magic. He wondered what she could do to him as she watched her face.

* * *

A few moments later,Lina's eyes twitched and she slowly regained consciousness.

"Lina..." Natsu sighed in relief. She looked to where his voice came from,but fainted again when she saw to Natsus and two Lucys. They just sighed and agreed to explain things when she wakes up again.

"So tell me," Ashley began. "How did you get back here?"

"We,um... got into a bit of trouble." Lucy said.

"Trouble?" she asked.

"Yeah." Natsu answered. "Some freak was after her heritage stone,and we needed to protect it."

"Stone? You mean that giant stone outside the cave?" Everyone nodded. "I see. So that's why the stone went missing."

Was that stone important to you,Ashley?" Lucy asked. Ashley shook her head.

"It was a piece of junk here! It's useless,just a big paperweight. But who knew it held that much power." Everyone silently agreed. They waited a few more hours before she woke up again. This time they explained everything about this place.

"Oh...Pretty weird." Lina said,but they guess you couldn't blame her. Dragion,hearing her voice for the first time,blushed at how pretty it was.

"Oh,you must be Dragion,right?" Lina tilted her head. "I'm Lina. Nice to meet you." Dragion shyed away for a bit,but found the confindence to shake her hand. Her hand was gentle and soft. It made him blush even more.

"N-nice to m-meet you,Lina-san." Dragion said,his head looking at the right,his face blushing like crazy. Natsu stared at him,his black eyes boring into his face. Why did he look so red? And why does it annoy him when he talks to _his _Lina? It didn't make any sense then,so he just shrugged it off.

"It's very strange to shake hands with Natsu like it was normal." she giggled.

"What?" Natsu asked. "I'm normal!"

"Well,yeah. But I mean,you usually greet me with a kiss now,right?" she asked. Natsu blushed a bit,then he leaned on her to kiss her. Dragion was too distracted about the feelings of her hand that he just stared blankly. They were like that for a few minutes,until they heard Ashley cough,catching their attention.

"You should wait a few weeks before going back to Earth Land," Ashley recommended. "We couldn't do much for her internal organs,but Wendy here could get some rest and heal her I guess. Plus she needs time for it to properly function again." She paused an looked at the others. "You all need medical attention." she finished.

"Alright. Can we stay at the infirmary while we rest?" Erza asked. Ashley nodded and led them to a few beds a little ways deeper. Dragion was too distracted staring at Lina to notice they've left.

"...Dragion." Lina called on. He snapped out of it,blushed,then looked at around.

"Where is everyone?" he asked shyly. Lina giggled. He blushed and smiled that he made her happy,even in the wrong reason.

"Everyone left,Dragion." Lina sighed. "Their resting right now. It's just you and me here."

"Oh,then...can I...ask you...something,Lina-san?" he asked. Lina wasn't sure,but she nodded so he could continue.

"How did you...get your wound?" he asked her. Lina stared blankly at her sheets,and gripped it a little tightly.

* * *

"I...We destroyed the Dragon's Soul Stone before coming here. It affected my body severely solely because I'm the only Sakurano left. My family was forever linked to that stone,so when it got destroyed,we would be punished along with its destruction. I lost all my powers,so I can't heal myself. I'm just an ordinary girl now,with no powers." she sighed before tears went down on her face. She was sad to lose her powers,but she had to do it or they would have all been dead. She didn't like the fact that she was going to be a burden from now on because she has no powers.

"Hey,don't be sad." Dragion said,not noticing his movements. "I'm an ordinary guy with no magic,so maybe..." Lina stared in shock when he gestured his body to climb up on the bed and hover on top of her. She was scared to move,but luckily someone broke the silence.

"Yeah?" they turned around to see Natsu,who was listening the whole time. "So maybe...what?" he asked,glaring at Dragion. Dragion notices the reason why. He was uconsciously climbing onto Lina's bed. He hid under the bed to try and hide his fear.

"I...I'm sorry!" he cried out. Natsu just shrugged and went over to Lina.

"You okay?" he asked as he sat on the bed. Lina nodded,but there were still tears in her eyes. Natsu gently wiped the tears and caressed her cheek. He pulled her into a deep kiss. A few moments later,they parted,then he glared at Dragion.

* * *

The pink-haired dragon slayer had a death glare for Dragion. It sent shivers down the other's spine.

"Stay away from her..." he growled. Dragion could only shiver and nod.

"What's wrong Natsu?" Lina asked,noticing his slight change of behaviour. Natsu didn't answer her,but he was growling at Dragion all the way before he left and was out of sight.

"Natsu?" This time,he turned to her when she called. "What's up?" She asked. He gently lifted her hand and rubbed the back of it. Then he looked at her with eyes that were saying something alarming,she just couldn't understand it.

"It's nothing." he said. "Just... Stay away from him..."

"But why?" she asked. Natsu took a deep breath,then formed a serious face.

"Because..." he began. "I don't like the way his scent changes when his around you..." Lina raised a quizical brow before speaking.

"His scent?" she asked. "I mean,I don't need you to tell what he smells like. I heard you can tell what those scents mean,right?"

"Well..." he pondered for a bit,then he sighed and sat beside her. "It's like how your scent changes when we're...you know." he had a light blush on his cheeks that Lina couldn't ignore. She giggled,but then realization dawned on her. She blushed when she found out the meaning of what Natsu was trying to say.

"Y-you mean,when we're..._intimate_?" she asked. Natsu could only nod. "I...I see. Your right. Maybe I should just stay away from him. But..." she took a breather before talking again. "I can't do much when I'm recovering." Natsu made her face him and kissed her lightly.

"That's why I'm here." he said then grinned. "I won't let him near you,if that's what you want."

"No." she answered. "I don't want him to think I'm avoiding him. Just... keep a close eye on him,alright?" Natsu nodded. He stood up and went to go back to the others. He waved a hand to Lina,and she smiled back in response.

"I need some rest." she whispered. She laid back on the soft matress and sighed. 'Still freakin' hurts...'

_"Your stomach?" _a female voice in her head asked. The brunette popped a comical vein and shot her eyes open.

'Stop talking to me! I need to sleep!' she yelled inwardly. Then she heard the voice chuckle.

_"You can't boss me around that much."_ the voice said. _"I'm your brain. Don't I deserve a little respect?"_

'No! No you don't! And I know for a fact you are not my brain!' she retorted. She found it weird talking to her 'brain',but she did this when she was a child. She cast a spell on her head so a voice could talk to her whenever she feels alone. She was glad that the spell never wore off,but she didn't know anything about the spell. She just read it in her father's spell book.

_"Well,what do you want to call me?"_ the voice asked. Indeed,it was weird to talk to someone in her head,which no one else heard,but at least she didn't feel so alone all the time. Especially when Natsu wasn't around.

'Um...' she thought. 'Alpha? I guess...' then she heard the voice giggle.

_"What made you came up with that name?" _the voice teased.

'S-shut up!' she stammered. 'I just thought it sounded cool,alright?'

_"Well,it does sound interesting... Alpha it is!" _the voice exclaimed. Lina smiled to herself and closed her eyes again.

'Hey.' she thought. She heard Alpha hum in question. 'Can you keep an eye out for me?'

_"You mean that Dragion boy?" _Alpha asked_. "I know that already,and I have no problem with that. Just one favor?"_

'Sure.' she asnwered. 'What is it?'

_"Could you stop fantasizing about your boyfriend too much!" _she exclaimed_. "It's hard enough to keep away from you two,now you dream of it,too?" _Lina could only laugh out loud.

'I'm sorry.' she replied. 'Do I really fantasize about him? I never noticed!'

_"Trust me! You do! Now,go to sleep. We can continue our conversation while you sleep."_ Alpha said.

'Really?' Lina asked. 'How can we do that? Do you have a body in my head?'

_"Just go to sleep." _Alpha ordered. _"All your questions will be answered later."_

"Alright..." she yawned aloud. 'Good night,Alpha. See you later...' she thought as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**R & R !**


	20. Mysterious Voices

**Chapter 20:**

**Mysterious Voices**

* * *

"Where am I?" Lina asked herself. "Last time I remember,I was going to sleep." She wandered around a dark space where nothing can be seen. She stayed there for what seems like hours,going absolutely everywhere just to get out. But sadly,no exits were found.

"Where am I!" she shouted. She was too tired to even think of anything now. Then she heard a female voice giggling.

"I guess you kept your deal of not fantasizing about your boyfriend." the voice chuckled. Lina's eyes widened and searched for the source of the voice.

"Alpha?" she asked. "Where are you? Where am I?" Her emerald eyes wandered aimlessly,until she spotted a spec of bright light across from where she was standing.

"Follow the light." Alpha said. "Cheesy line. But it's true. That's where you'll find me."

"Okay..." she walked towards the light. "I better not be dead!"

"Of course not!" Alpha said. "Just go." Lina walked closer and closer,and it grew brighter with each step.

As she went closer to the bright light,a warm feeling engulfed her body. It felt relaxing and soothing to the body and mind,and it felt like all her worry and fear just disappears. She took another step closer,and the light engulfed her completely. She shut her eyes and covered them with her hand. When the light dimmed a bit,she took off her hand and saw a magnificent field of flowers. The _Drak'sha_ or Dragon's Maiden covered the whole field,and a lone sakura tree was seen from the center of the tree. Beside the tree,was a woman with snow-pale skin,wearing a long white dress with long,rounded sleeves in the end that covered her hands. Her silvery blonde hair reached her hips,and her bangs covered one of her eyes. She was tall and slender,from what Lina could make out as a blur of sakura petals fluttered in front of her. Then in almost an instant that the sakura rain ended,she saw that she was standing near the tree,the woman right in front of her. She gasped and took a step back,which made the woman chuckle.

"Don't be so jumpy,girl." the woman said. Lina looked into her eyes,well,the one that was visible anyway. It was a silver color,much to her disbelief. How could someone have silver eyes? That was impossible! Still,the woman in front of her had that silver color in her eyes,so mesmerizing and so tantilizing. It was like staring at the stars,and her eyes held such comfort and affection in them,that Lina couldn't help but kneel in her weakness. Then once she regained some of her senses,she rememebered who she was talking to before she got to this place.

"A-Alpha?" she asked shakily as she stared back up to the woman's face. She was shaking not out of fear,but out of bliss. Her body was so relaxed,that she had to force herself to move. The woman smiled and offered her a hand. Lina gladly took it. Her skin was soft and warm. The gentle fingers made her skin crawl. As she stood up,the relaxed feeling faded and she returned to her normal self.

"Welcome,Lina." the woman said. "Yes,I am Alpha. That's what you named me,correct?" She smiled at her confused expression.

"Alpha..." she muttered. "Where am I?" She was so confused and had a ton of questions to bombard her. Like who she really was,or was this the effect of the spell,or even her silver eyes. But for now,she was more focused on finding out where she was. This beautiful place was nowhere to be found from where she was. Her father's hybrid plant and the seemingly endless blue sky that filled above them. She really needed to find out. And she wanted to know if she could come back here often.

"You,dear child,are in your mind." Alpha answered. "This is a space for your subconscious." She raised an arm and the flowers fluttered to the air,making a beautiful scenery.

"This is all...inside my head?" Lina asked. "And wait,how did you get here,and what was that dark place? Don't tell me I'm going dumb!" She held her head and rubbed it gently. Alpha laughed at her antics and shook her head.

"No,of course not." she replied. "All of this was created by you. Your happy place,as you people call it. That dark place you were in was another space for your dreams." she sighed and looked away. "That space was filled with you and your boyfriend in...'suggestive positions'."

"O-oh..." the brunette had a light blush on her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were still here. I thought the spell had worn off five years ago."

"You have forgotten the spell already?" Alpha asked. The girl nodded. She sighed and lifted her hand,and a few moments later,a blue book came to her hand. "This is the spell book your father used to have." she said. Then she flipped the pages without even touching them. It only took a few seconds before she stopped and smiled. The blonde woman went near Lina and sat down on the flowery field. She patted the area next to her,so Lina could sit there. After they got comfortable,she showed her the book and the content it had.

"This is the spell that you used,you didn't even read it properly. You just thought the picture was pretty back then." she giggled lightly. Lina stared at the book while her fingers traced the page of the spell. There was a picture of a woman holding a ball of light,her hair flowing outwards,and her eyes closed. She really did think it was pretty,and knowing her,she probably forgot about anything else and focused on that when she was a child. On top of the picture,was the name of the spell written in ancient writing. Lucky for her,she learned this when she was a child.

"Angel Infusion..." she mumbled. "Your an angel?" she faced Alpha,who nodded.

"Well,not exactly." she said. "For you see,my sole purpose is to protect you,both in body and mind. But I'm also here to teach you." She closed the book and placed it on her hands. "The spells in this book are very powerful. It takes a lot of magic just to cast one of these spells. But you did a spell when you were only a child,and you still had the energy to run around afterwards." she chuckled.

"I could still remember that day..." Alpha lifted her arms,and the book floated away. Afterwards,a bright light appeared in place of the book. The light floated from her hands and took to the sky. A few seconds later,it seemed to open the heavens,and it showed them a glimpse of the past. The memory was in a sepia tone,and it played like a movie.

* * *

_:Memory:_

_A 7-year old brown-haired girl came running about a small house. She had her arms spread wide and she was spinning every time she turns around. The young girl had a happy look in her face until she hit a bookshelf. She stumbled down,making a small thud. A blue book fell on top of the bookshelf and onto her head. She pouted and started to cry,but stopped when the book dropped to the floor and opened. It showed her a picture of a woman holding a ball of light,her hair flowing outwards,and her eyes closed._

_"Pretty..." she mumbled. She touched the book and traced it with her small hand. She moved it up and down and saw small writing on the dusty page. She read the words in her mind,and she smiled. The words in the book looked like a pretty incantation. She thought that if she recites this,scary ghosts and monsters won't hurt her. She spread her arms and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and started to chant the spell._

_Heaven's judge sent to the Earth,_

_Magic shine down on me,_

_O,Light that purges all evil,_

_Become one with my soul,_

_Guide me from the abyss,_

_Angel brought down from the Heavens_

_As soon as she finished chanting,bright,white light engulfed her whole body. She levitated from the ground and the light became focused on her head. The light became a small spec before vanishing and gently getting the girl back to her feet. Afterwards,the small child opened her eyes like nothing happened,clapped her hands to pray,and headed back outside. She played under the trees and bushes of their backyard. She was having too much fun to notice that she would stumble again. She was about to fall when an unknown voice spoke._

_"Stop..." the voice said. The girl tilted her head upwards to see who was speaking,and found no one. She stopped just in time,the next step was blocked by an exposed tree root._

_"Who...who are you?" the young brunette asked shyly._

_"Do not fear." the voice answered. "I am here to protect you." With that,the girl smiled and bowed to thin air,like an actual person was there._

_"Thank you." she said. Then she skipped back inside her house to tell her parents about her new friend._

_:End of Memory:_

* * *

The light faded and the sky returned to normal. Lina had a smile on her face,being reminded of the past was very enlightening to her. She turned to Alpha,who was holding her father's spell book again. She smiled to her and held the book with her.

"This is what I'm going to teach you." Alpha said. "All the spells from this book are to be learned by you."

"But Alpha," Lina began. "I don't have any magic left. The Dragon's Stone was destroyed,and I lost all of it." she still had a smile on her face,but the sadness in her eyes remained.

"Silly girl." Alpha said softly. The brunette looked at her with wide eyes. "You still have magic if you can maintain the Angel Infusion spell. The Dragon's Stone was a part of your heritage,but it doesn't mean that you rely on it's magic alone. You have your own magic,and a powerful one to boot. Never underestimate yourself,child." she said with a smile on her face. She then moved her hand across the open space,and it formed a blur. When the ripple cleared,they saw her body,eminating blue light.

"T-that's me." Lina said. "Why am I glowing?"

"That's magic." Alpha replied. "You're using it right now since you are talking to me. That blue glow proves it." she said in an I-told-you-so tone. Then she moved her hand across the vision and it faded. "You don't have your previous powers,but you can learn new magic with your own." Then they both stood up.

"S-so,I'm still a mage?" she asked. Alpha only smiled and nodded. "That means I'm not a burden anymore!"

"Now,Lina." Alpha frowned. "Your friends never thought of you as a burden." she said. "Truth be told,they thought the opposite,that they were holding you back. That they were the ones that led you to hurt yourself."

"But that's not true!" she exclaimed. "I-I know I made sacrifices,but that's not their fault..." she said more quietly. Yes,she did sacrifice her family's heritage,but that was to save her friends! She didn't want them to blame themselves just because of her inability to defeat an immortal like Alexandris. None of them could defeat him,he was an immortal,after all. She clenched her fist and lowered her head. She bit her lip and her shoulders shook,trying to force the awful thoughts that would surely haunt her if not forgotten. Would they leave her? Would she be all alone? Will Natsu stay with her if their friends leave,or go with them? If they thought that they were holding her back,they would let her go,wouldn't they? Those are the thoughts that she needed to dispose of quickly. She desperately needed to escape those thoughts. But somehow,it kept crawling back up. Seeing the girl's confliction,Alpha placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You have very loyal friends." she began. "They will never leave you,ability or no. Especially your lover." That made Lina look at her in the eye(s?). She wiped a stray tear on her cheek and smiled again.

"You're right..." she said. "Well,let's start. I might wake up and I don't know how to get back here."

"Just follow the light. If you're not fantasizing again,that is." she chuckled. "Now come." She ushered her to follow her back to the sakura tree. The book was lifted from Alpha's hands and floated to the tree. A light shone in front of the tree,and when it faded,a white podium was seen. The book landed safely on the podium and opened a page.

"We'll start from the beginning." Alpha instructed. Lina gulped and looked at the book again. There were a lot of pages. She wondered how many pages did it had and how long will it take to master them all. Alpha,being a supreme creature and all,anticipated those questions in her head and answered before she could ask.

"The book contains about 400 different spells,each ranging from elemental spells,attack and support spells,and healing spells." she began. "It would be best to learn the attack and support spells first,but you need a spell that would serve you as a shield,I guess." Her hand hovered over the book,and it glowed a yellow light. A few seconds later,the letters of the book detached from the pages and enlarged.

"This spell will protect you from anyone that has ill intention towards you." She turned around to Lina,whose mouth was still hung open from the information she recieved earlier. "They're easy to master." Alpha assured. "This one is the simplest. So if you can master this,you'll be able to master the others with ease." She waved her hand and the enlarged words flowed into view. "Recite these words,and we'll see if you can use this." Lina nodded at her and took a deep breath. Then she recited the spell:

_Dragon's will,Dragon's call,_

_Here,eternally,I lay,_

_A vessel I am for your tremendous power._

_Will of Fire,Will of the Sun,_

_Shine down on me,burn all sins._

_Protect this vessel with purifying Light_

_Draconic Spell One:_

_Dragon Heart,Blue Flame Shield!_

* * *

Meanwhile,Natsu was standing outside the infirmary. He couldn't sleep at all because he was worried about Lina's safety. It didn't help that Dragion's scent was all over the guild. He's starting to get annoyed,and if he sees Dragion wandering around the guild at this time of night,he'll burn him alive. He leaned back against the infirmary door,standing guard so no one enters it. He eyed the dark halls of the Edolas Fairy Tail guild like it was his sworn enemy. Since Dragion's scent was all over,he couldn't take chances. Even if he was a coward,he's still smart. And if what his nose told him was true,and it was almost always true,that if Dragion has 'intentions' for Lina,he'll be there to protect her.

'He's not going anywhere near this damn door.' he said to himself. He felt paranoid inside this place,and his feet are itching to just dash inside and snag Lina away from here. The only thing keeping him from doing that was his will. He knew that she needed rest while she recovers from that grueling hit. He remembered the scene where it all started. Her almost lifeless body that he was carrying,and her blood on his whole body. He could still smell her blood on him.

"Lina..." he mumbled. "I'm sorry." He clenched his fist,lowered his head and closed his eyes. His face tensed when he caught another whiff of her blood from him. That scent just never washes off! He tried everything,even tried to burn it off,but it all ended the same. He blamed himself for not being strong enough to protect her. He swore that he'll become stronger for her,do what ever it takes to make her survive. He knew she was strong,that's one thing that he liked about her. He also thought Lucy was strong. But he traced some of Loke's scent in her when she got back from her vacation,so he knew something was going on. He groaned when another wave of her blood-covered scent was driven to him by the nighttime breeze. The scent was embedded in his body and it will take a long time before it completely disappears. He made up his mind that he will protect her,but it also dawned on him that he hasn't even marked her yet. He cringed inwardly,knowing full well that if a dragon slayer mates,he needs to mark his partner so no one could take her. He decided to do it the moment she wakes up tomorrow.

Suddenly,he felt a magical surge coming from inside the infirmary. He shot his eyes open,and saw a blue light radiating from inside. It was visible through the small opening under the door. His mind went to a panic the moment he was reminded that his mate was inside. He didn't think of anything else,his mate was in trouble,or so he thought. He busted the door open,anger clouding his visions. He was sure that an enemy would be there. But to his surprise,there was no one in the room other than her and him,although what he saw was equally shocking.

* * *

Lina's body was floating in midair,just a little above the bed. An aura of blue light surrounded her entire body,making it almost blinding just looking at her. As he went closer to her,his body became heavier and heavier. And soon,he couldn't move at all. He didn't listen to his body,and trudged forward despite the pain. Inch by inch he neared her,hoping to at least touch her and pull her down. Then the aura around her swirled into a light cloud. And from that cloud,a pair of eyes similar to a dragon's appeared and glared at him.

"Who are you?" the dragon cloud spoke. Natsu was shocked that a cloud talked to him,but he needed answers for what's happening to Lina.

"I'm Lina's mate,you cloud dragon!" he yelled,forgetting the fact that it _was_ a cloud dragon he was talking to. The eyes of the dragon shone a blue light,and it covered Natsu. The light didn't seem harmful,it felt warm and soothing. A few seconds later,the heavy atmosphere was lifted and he could feel his body again. He looked up to see that the blue cloud dragon had disappeared,and Lina was laying back on the bed. He blinked a few times,his eyes filled confusion.

"Was that all...a dream?" he asked himself. No one answered,so he figured that it was a dream. But he could still feel the magical surge inside the room,and his instincts are roaring at him to rush over to her side,like something was endagering her. He didn't ignore his instincts,and went near her. He was surprised to see that she was still glowing blue,but much dimmer than before. It was almost invisible if you don't squint. He felt a new presence within her,which alarmed him and caused his senses to react.

"Don't fret,dragon slayer." a voice said. "My master is just resting." Natsu took a step back,but never left her side. He felt something strange from that voice,but it didn't feel dangerous.

"W-who are you?" he asked quietly. He saw that the light in Lina's body glowed a bit before the voice responded.

"I am the master's guardian." it said. "She summoned the Blue Flame to protect her from anyone with ill will."

"How could she summon you?" he asked. "She doesn't even have any magic,and she hasn't moved at all since she slept!"

"That you are wrong,dragon slayer." the voice replied. "Though it is true that she hasn't move,she has powerful magic inside her."

"But how!" Natsu half-yelled. "She lost her powers because of me! How could she still have her powers if I destroyed the very thing that was providing it for her?" He couldn't believe that she still has her powers after what he did. This only made things more confusing for him. If she still has her powers,why couldn't she use it to heal herself and go back? Then her body glowed again,meaning the voice will respond.

"Fool." the voice said. "Her body is leaking exceptional magic,not enough to rival your power in your Final form,but powerful still. If you did not sense it before,perhaps this 'thing' that provided her powers was somehow sealing it?"

"What does that mean?" he asked,a little calmer,but the gravity of his voice never left. He heard the dragon voice sigh before speaking.

"This 'thing'..."

"Stone." Natsu butted in. "That thing was a stone."

"My apoligies." the voice replied. "That stone must have some sort of seal,preventing her powers from being used. I can feel that it wasn't used since the time of the 'Infusion'."

"Infusion? What the hell is that?" he asked. He was getting irritated again. He just found out that his mate had magic again. He should be happy about that,but what irritated him was all these new presences he's feeling. First is this light thing,then the cloud dragon,and now he was feeling another one! This one was lighter compared to the dragon,and it bore no harm against either one of them.

"Never mind that." the voice said. "I have to ask,why is it that you haven't marked her yet?" The question made Natsu blush and lower his head.

"I...I forgot." he replied. The voice cackled in response. "Hey,what the hell was that for?"

"For your stupidity,little one!" he said. "You forgot the most important ritual needed to claim your mate?"

"I-it wasn't my fault!" he yelled. "It slipped my mind!" He was embarrassed that a 'light' managed to annoy him.

"If you wish to do it now,I will give you your privacy." the voice teased.

"N-never mind about that!" he stuttered. "J-just...tell me about that 'Infusion' stuff."

"There is no need." it answered. "My master will awake momentarily,and I will conceal my presence from her."

"Why would you do that?" he asked.

"Because,dragon slayer,I am only allowed to appear when she is in danger." the voice said. "Farewell for now,dragon slayer." Afterwards,the light eminating from Lina's body faded and the two presences disappeared. A few seconds later,her eyes started to twitch and she was beginning to wake up.

* * *

A/N: Yeah... I'm not good with spells and rhymes... It's a major waste of time... XD

Anyway, I have told you I put this in temporary hiatus,right? For those who didn't know,I put in on a review. Anyway,this is a chapter I wrote before... I guess I could publish it. Well,I'm sorry for those who waited!

And for those who are thinking it, Lina is **NOT** a Mary Sue! I'll be making sure of that if I ever get focused back on this story! I fucking hate Mary Sues as well,but I can't help but feel I'm making her one! This is my first ever story with her in it,so cut me some none-deservant slack!

Well,that being said,I hope you can still enjoy this chapter... ^_^

Ja ne~


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